Thursday, September 21, 2006

Love-sick Moose wanders onto campus

MARQUETTE, Mich. - A moose that wandered onto the Northern Michigan University campus and broke a dormitory window might have been looking for love in all the wrong places, a wildlife expert said.

City police chased the animal away after the Tuesday evening incursion at Magers Hall, Detective Capt. Mike Angeli said. It was unclear whether the moose got inside the building.

"It's not unusual for a moose to do something like this now," said Dean Beyer, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist who has an office at Northern Michigan. "We're in the middle of the (mating) rut right about now.

"Moose, especially a young bull moose, will move long distances," he said. "They could be searching for a cow to mate with, or simply be a young bull dispersing after being chased away from its herd and looking for a new home range."

A yearling bull generally weighs 500 to 600 pounds, but any wild animal should be avoided, Beyer told The Mining Journal.

"They're more aggressive this time of year," he said. "It's always best to keep your distance."

Man's lost gnome attends Steelers game

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Allen Snyder's garden gnome is apparently out of jail and now traveling the country. The 14-inch tall red-and-white statue disappeared from Snyder's Morgantown yard in the spring, and Snyder has since received three letters claiming to have been written by "Gnomey."

The latest letter, which Snyder received this week, included photos of the gnome in the company of Steelers fans attending Pittsburgh's football home opener.

"You never took me to any games," the note said. The letter ended: "Have to go now. Boarding a plane. Now, finally, broadening my travels."

An earlier letter included a request for bail money and included what appeared to be booking photos of Gnomey and another of the gnome in the back seat of a police car.

Snyder has no idea who's pulling this prank but said his short list of suspects includes several gag-loving friends.

The plight of his gnome has gotten a lot of attention. Snyder says people are always asking if he's heard from Gnomey.

"I never thought it would go this far," he said.

Man urinated on cash till

US police are hunting a man who stood on a conveyor belt and urinated on a till at a supermarket.

Witnesses said the man was standing in line at the check out at a ShopRite store in Chester, New York state.

He suddenly climbed on the belt, took out his penis and urinated on the till, reports the Times Herald Record.

Police responded to a report of indecent exposure but were unable to find the man who fled before startled staffand shoppers could act.

ShopRite officials called it an unfortunate incident and said the register was cleaned and disinfected immediately.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

False teeth snare robber

An Argentinian robber was caught after he lost his false teeth during a raid on a house.

Householder Juan Navarro, from Cordoba, noticed one of the masked robbers lose his dentures.

In his hurry to escape, the robber left the false teeth behind and Mr Navarro handed them over to the police.

Two days after the robbery, Mr Navarro noticed his own nephew suddenely seemed to have lost his teeth.

A police spokesman said: "Mr Navarro came straight to us and we had the denture analysed. It turns out it belongs to his nephew.

"What a funny thing to happen. Caught by a denture! Unbelievable!"

Man Says Food Found In Dumpster “Not As Good As It Looked”

PHILADELPHIA, PA- A Philadelphia man spent the night in an area hospital recovering from dehydration as the result of vomiting and uncontrolled defecation.

Phil Navaro, of North Philadelphia, said the emesis began about one hour after eating the remains of a cheese steak he discovered in a dumpster outside of his apartment complex.

“It was practically untouched…just nibbled on one end a little. I guess it wasn’t as good as it looked. You never know about these things until it’s too late,” Navaro said while leaving the emergency room of Temple University Hospital.

Navaro was released by hospital physicians after receiving two liters of IV fluid and a tetanus shot.

Thief steals courthouse computers while on trial for computer theft

NOVATO, Calif. (AP) -- A man was convicted of various theft charges, after prosecutors say he stole computers from the courthouse while he was on trial for computer theft.

"It just amazed me that someone could be in the middle of a jury trial for a burglary involving computers and immediately get involved in another burglary at the Civic Center," said sheriff's Sgt. Jerry Niess.

Jon Houston Eipp, 39, of Novato pleaded guilty Monday in three separate cases involving 10 different charges, including burglary, theft, drug possession, attempted auto theft and more.

He could be facing nearly five years in prison when he is sentenced next month.

In an interview Monday night at the county jail, Eipp said he stole the computers "for personal reasons."

"I needed help, and I didn't know how to ask for help," he said. "And I guess, in my crazy way, that was my way of asking for help. Help with my drug problems, help with my sanity."

Trees planted by Nazis show a huge swastika 70 years later

The 60 x 60 meter swastika consisted of Larch trees in a Pine forest near the village of Zernikow (110 km Northeast of Berlin). It was only visible from the air a few weeks in the Spring and a few weeks in the Fall when Larch trees stood out in contract to the surrounding Pine trees.

These trees were planted in the 1930's by a local resident during Nazi times. They were largely forgotten until after the German reunification in 1992 when planes once again flew over the area.

Local forestry officials cut down 25 of the Larch trees after this photo appeared in several German tabloids. Swastikas are mostly outlawed in Germany.. Coins and stamps are exempt from the ban.

Man Plummets 50 Feet to Grab Missing $20

PALMETTO, Fla. Sep 19, 2006 (AP)— Mark Giorgio figured a 50-foot fall was worth $20. Giorgio, 47, was counting his money Monday while walking across the U.S. 41 bridge over the Manatee River when a $20 bill blew out of his hand and flew over the rail.

He followed. And plummeted 50 feet into the river.

Then he swam about 100 yards to fish the bill from the water.

"I got my money back, hell yeah," Giorgio told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. "Twenty bucks is a lot of money when you're broke."

He was fished from the water by a passing Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer. Giorgio, who said he was already suffering from a broken collarbone, refused treatment for cuts and scrapes he suffered in the fall.

Panda Bites Man, Man Bites Panda at Zoo

A drunken Chinese migrant worker jumped into a panda enclosure at the Beijing Zoo, was bitten by the bear and retaliated by chomping down on the animal's back, state media said Wednesday.

Zhang Xinyan, from the central province of Henan, drank four jugs of beer at a restaurant near the zoo before visiting Gu Gu the panda on Tuesday, the Beijing Morning Post said.

"He felt a sudden urge to touch the panda with his hand," and jumped into the enclosure, the newspaper said.

The panda, who was asleep, was startled and bit Zhang, 35, on the right leg, it said. Zhang got angry and kicked the panda, who then bit his other leg. A tussle ensued, the paper said.

"I bit the fellow in the back," Zhang was quoted as saying in the newspaper. "Its skin was quite thick."

Other tourists yelled for a zookeeper, who got the panda under control by spraying it with water, reports said. Zhang was hospitalized.

Newspaper photographs showed Zhang lying on a hospital bed with blood-soaked bandages and a seam of stitches running down his leg.

The Beijing Youth Daily quoted Zhang as saying that he had seen pandas on television and "they seemed to get along well with people."

"No one ever said they would bite people," Zhang said. "I just wanted to touch it. I was so dizzy from the beer. I don't remember much."

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Man Jailed For Putting Urine In Coffee At Work

AKRON, Ohio -- There will be no trial for an Ohio postal worker accused of urinating in his co-workers' coffee.

Thomas Shaheen admitted Monday that he put urine in the break room coffee pot at the Wolf Ledges, Ohio, post office branch earlier this year. Shaheen was sentenced to six months in a jail work release program.

He was also ordered to pay his co-workers $1,200 to reimburse them for the video camera they rented to help capture him in the act.

Shaheen told his former co-workers during his sentencing that he was sorry for what he did.

"I just wanted to tell you I'm really sorry," said Shaheen. "I don't know what came over me. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me. I'm really sorry, I just want to get my life over, get my life going again."

But before he apologized and was sentenced, some of the postal employees he worked with at the transportation maintenance shop gave Shaheen a piece of their minds.

"He not only watched us drink the coffee but the majority of the shop, his own friends and fellow workers, about 20 of us all together, he would sit in the same room with people and watch them drink his sick little brew and think nothing of it," said postal worker Jene Jackson.

Postal workers said Shaheen poured urine in the coffee pot several times in a four- to six-month period. Employees said Shaheen was jealous of some of his peers who had certain work privileges.

Driver tried to hide crack cocaine by feeding it to puppy

A puppy that was fed crack cocaine by a driver who was stopped at a DUI checkpoint appears to be healthy and unharmed by the incident.

Dr. Steven Smolen, a veterinarian at the Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Shaler, who was on duty when the puppy was brought in, said the puppy is "doing very well."

"It was really very thin from not getting the proper nutrition. We're treating it for internal and external parasites -- worms and fleas and ticks," he said.

He said one person called the clinic yesterday morning, wanting to adopt the dog. But, the trooper called yesterday, as well, and wants the clinic to hold onto the dog until he can "make arrangements."

Police said charges are pending against the driver, identified as Rich Lavelle, 19, of Pittsburgh. State police said Mr. Lavelle would be charged with cruelty to animals, DUI, driving under suspension and other summary offenses.

"The plan is that the dog is not going back to that owner," Dr. Smolen said.

Cocaine beverage enters energy drinks market

A new energy drink called Cocaine, aimed at the young party-going market, has been launched in the US.

The product, which shares the same name with the illegal drug also associated with a young party-going circuit, has been marketed as giving a bigger and better high than any other energy drinks but without the crash the similar drinks cause.
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The drink's maker Las Vegas-based Redux Beverages claims that five minutes after consumption the drinker will achieve a high which is then followed by a caffeine boost 15 minutes later. The effects are supposed to last for up to five hours.

The maker also claims its latest product is 350% stronger than leading energy drink Red Bull.

The drink's creator claims its effects are caused by the use of simple sugars that don't need to be broken down by the body in order to create a "sugar buzz", which is accompanied by a large dose of vitamin B12.

Redux have also proposed that consumers will experience a psychological boost after hearing the name of the drink.

The Attak of the Clowns

Police in Seattle are on the lookout for members of a machete-wielding gang in angry clown make-up after a rampage of robbery and violence left nearly two dozen people injured while dozens more were treated for excessive helium inhalation in a park in western Washington state

The group, who said they were “juggalos,” devotees of the Detroit-based rap-metal group Insane Clown Posse, attacked, entertained, robbed and delighted visitors to Fort Steilacoom Park while shouting “Woo, woo, juggalo!” to each other, according to court documents.

Prosecutors in Pierce County, south of Seattle, charged three people with assault, robbery and wacky mayhem last week, but police in the City of Lakewood said they are searching for another twenty five to thirty suspects who took part. They are believed to be driving a green and white polka dot colored Volkswagen Rabbit.
According to police reports, some members of the gang wore black hooded sweatshirts or clown make-up and told victims they would “cut their heads off” with machetes. “They said it in such a way that we all had to laugh.” Said Marge Rincon of Seattle. “There was actually a decapitation line, there was a sucker punch line. We thought it was all in fun.”

Italian thief accidentally turns himself in

MILAN (Reuters) - An Italian thief accidentally turned himself in after losing his cellular phone while robbing an elderly lady, calling his own number to meet the finder -- and unwittingly arranging a date with police.

The 77-year-old victim handed over the phone that the bag snatcher had dropped to police, who lured the thief to a meeting where he was arrested, news agency Agi reported on Monday.

Agi said the man had been freed from prison recently under an Italian mass pardon meant to ease congestion in jails.

By the time police were waiting for him at the meeting point, the 35-year-old had already robbed another old lady and was riding a stolen scooter, Agi said.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Fonz to take pantomime role as Hook

Actor Henry Winkler will play Captain Hook in Peter Pan at London's New Wimbledon Theatre.

David Hasselhoff was originally offered the role but pulled out to appear on Simon Cowell's new US show America's Got Talent.

Winkler, 60, will co-star with entertainer Bobby Davro. The show marks his British stage debut.

"I'm thrilled to be doing this and I'm honoured to be one of the first Americans invited to appear in panto. We don't have panto in America and it sounds unbelievably fun," he said.

"I love the Peter Pan story and I love Captain Hook. He's a villain but, hey, he had his hand bitten off by a crocodile - you have to feel some sympathy for the guy."

Winkler, whose film credits include Scream and The Waterboy, found fame as Arthur 'Fonz' Fonzarelli in hit show Happy Days. It ran from 1974-84 and the character became an icon - with The Fonz always sporting his trademark biker jacket and Elvis quiff.

"I won't be bringing too much of The Fonz into Captain Hook because it might get confusing for the audience - but I may keep the quiff under my wig just for old times' sake," Winkler said.

The show opens on December 8 and runs until January 14. Producer Kevin Wood said: "Henry was an obvious choice for us. He is a brilliant actor and is known for his larger than life performances as The Fonz across the globe. Parents will know and remember him fondly and a new generation of children will get to know his unique sense of humour."

Winkler is not the only US star treading the board in panto this Christmas. Dallas star Patrick Duffy is appearing in Cinderella at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking.

Drunken cowboy arrested

A drunken German cowboy was arrested after he rode his horse into several pubs looking for a nightcap.

The 33-year-old trotted with his mount into several saloons in Geseke requesting: "Just one for the road - and an apple for Hendrik."

Hendrik the horse plodded faithfully around the town as his master fired a cap gun and at one stage fell off.

It wasn't long before the sherrif arrived and the night ended with the midnight cowboy sleeping it off in the local cells.

Hendrik was bedded down for the night at a stable with police horses. His owner faces a charge of being drunk in charge of a horse and a fine.

Google Earth reveils Shark in Las Vegas Swimming Pool

A keen-eyed Google Earth user has spotted what appears to be a live shark in a swimming pool in Las Vegas.

Art student hid among Terracotta Warriors

A German art student hid among China's famed Terracotta Warriors for a prank at a world heritage site.

Pablo Wendel, 26, jumped into a pit to join about 2,000 ancient life-size pottery warriors and horses in Xi'an.

He wore a uniform identical to those once worn by Emperor Qinshihuang's warriors and had even brought a plinth to stand on.

Wendel stood there, motionless and unblinking, for a couple of minutes until police found him, reports the Xinhua news agency.Officers tried to persuade him to leave but when he persisted with his pose they picked up the prostrate figure and carried him out.

Wendel said: "I have always dreamed of disguising myself as a terracotta warrior among the real ones".

He had his costume confiscated and was sent back to the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, where he is studying performance art. Police said his actions warranted only "serious criticism and education" since he did not cause any damage.

Man, 29, passes for toddler

A businessman flew from Britain to Amsterdam on his two-year-old daughter's passpart.

Mark Coshever, 29, was allowed through airport security and on to a plane after picking up the wrong passport at home.

He did not realise the mistake until his easyJet flight from Luton touched down at Amsterdam, reports the Mirror.

Mark, 29, said: "I was shocked that I could fly to a major international airport on a child's passport."

Airline staff had twice examined his passport and failed to notice the photo was that of toddler Alicia.

Mark, from Rayleigh, Essex, added: "Fortunately I had my driving licence, which has my photo."

A spokesman for easyJet said: "Staff misread Mr Coshever's passport and have been disciplined."

Millimetres from instant death

QUEENSLANDER Chaz White vividly remembers the steak knife flying straight at his eye.

"For a split second I could see the tip of the blade coming towards me," he said.

There wasn't time to duck and the sharp serrated blade plunged into the corner of his left eye, sliced its way behind his right eye and into his brain.

"I remember seeing the knife - I was yelling, 'I've got a knife hanging out of my eye'," Chaz, 21, said. "I could see it with my right eye and I was trying not to blink."

The knife, which penetrated 10cm into his head, narrowly missed vital arteries. Stunned medical staff marvelled at his millimetre escape from instant death.

An X-ray of Chaz's skull taken at the hospital shows how lucky he was to survive, the knife lodged in his eye socket.

Another angle from above shows just how deep the knife penetrated his skull, into his brain. "I'm told if it went in any further I would have been dead," said Chaz, from Yeppoon, near Rockhampton.

Royal Brisbane Hospital specialist Lawrence Lee said Chaz could easily have been killed. "He's really lucky the knife missed everything," the consultant opthalmologist said.

"He would have been gone if the knife had hit the carotid artery and blind if it hit the optic nerve.

"It was only a fraction of a millimetre away. "He's a pretty tough cookie."

Crazy new driving laws

A recent approval to proceed with a controversial new type of traffic offence in Texas has enraged some local folks and even had some doctors quoted as saying it is the wackiest law they have ever heard.

The local H.A.C (Health Advisory Committee) approved the new traffic offence based on 3 years of research done at the University of Texas done by the Mycology department. The new offence will be officially called “driving while under the influence of a severe cold”.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Two old women almost die after locking themselves in their car

Two elderly women are recovering from heat stroke and heat exhaustion after locking themselves in a hot car in Daytona Beach.

Police say their battery apparently died, the automatic locks failed, and they didn't know they could unlock the doors manually.

The women were trapped for nearly two hours before a passerby spotted their plea for help, which they wrote on the back of a tissue box.

Rescue workers smashed a window to get the ladies out.

Man finds his car seven months after forgetting where he parked it

MOTORIST Eric King has been reunited with his car — seven months after FORGETTING where he parked it.

Absent-minded Eric, 57, left his black X-reg Ford Focus in a space in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, last February so he could walk into the town centre.

But when he had finished his sightseeing trip he couldn’t remember the name of the residential road he had parked the car in or where it was.

Eric searched for the £3,000 motor for four hours before catching a coach back to his home over 60 miles away in Milton Keynes, Bucks.

He reported the Focus missing to police but could not make an insurance claim as it had not been stolen.

He returned to Bury St Edmunds TEN TIMES to look for his motor, often booking himself into bed and breakfasts overnight — and lost two stone tramping the streets in his quest.

He finally got the car back this week after it was reported abandoned where he had left it — in Blackbird Drive on the Moreton Hall estate.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Man who claims toupee caused attack sues

MILFORD, Conn. - A man who claims he had a heart attack during a dispute over an ill-fitting hairpiece that didn't match his hair color is suing the wig shop.

Paul Lewis claims he suffered a heart attack after refusing to pay for the hairpiece that was not only the wrong size but also the wrong color. He is seeking more than $15,000 in damages.

Lewis filed a counter lawsuit in Superior Court after Paula's Wig Boutique of Orange filed a small claims action seeking $1,200 in payment for the hairpiece.

Lewis claims he fell ill in December 2004 after Paula Wood, the owner of the wig shop, threatened to call police because he refused to pay, according to court records.

Lewis told the Connecticut Post that Wood sold him the hairpiece in a darkened room and he didn't realize it was the wrong color until later. He said he put a stop payment on a check he issued to the shop.

Wood said she has no idea why Lewis suffered a heart attack over the incident and added that he was so happy with the hairpiece when he left the shop that he "hugged me and thanked me."

She added that her shop is brightly lit and Lewis left with the hairpiece during the day.

Widow rented rotary phone for 42 years

CANTON, Ohio - A widow rented a rotary dial telephone for 42 years, paying what her family calculates as more than $14,000 for a now outdated phone.

Ester Strogen, 82, of Canton, first leased two black rotary phones - the kind whose round dial is moved manually with your finger - in the 1960s. Back then, the technology was new and owning telephones was unaffordable for most people.

Until two months ago, Strogen was still paying AT&T to use the phones - $29.10 a month. Strogen's granddaughters, Melissa Howell and Barb Gordon, ended the arrangement when they discovered the bills.

"I'm outraged," Gordon said. "It made me so mad. It's ridiculous. If my own grandmother was doing it, how many other people are?"

New Jersey-based Lucent Technologies, a spinoff of AT&T that manages the residential leasing service, said customers were given the choice option to opt out of renting in 1985. The number of customers leasing phones dropped from 40 million nationwide to about 750,000 today, he said.

"We will continue to lease sets as long as there is a demand for them," Skalko said.

Benefits of leasing include free replacements and the option of switching to newer models, he said.

Gordon said she believes the majority of people leasing are elderly and may not realize they are paying thousands of dollars for a telephone.

Skalko said bills are clearly marked, and customers can quit their lease any time by returning their phones.

Strogen says she's not a big fan of her new push-button phone. "I'd like to have my rotary back," she said. "I like that better."

Murder suspect: Goat turned into corpse

LAGOS, Nigeria - A Nigerian murder suspect accused of killing his brother with an axe told police investigators he actually attacked a goat, which was only later magically transformed into his sibling's corpse, officials said Thursday.

The man, whose name wasn't released, offered police his explanation after his arrest on Tuesday in the death of his brother the previous day at Isseluku village in southern Nigeria.

"He said that the goats were on his farm and he tried to chase them away. When one wouldn't move, he attacked it with an axe. He said it then turned into his brother," Police Commissioner Udom Ekpoudom told the Associated Press.

Murder suspects in Nigeria, where many people believe in black magic, sometimes claim spirits tricked them into killing. In 2001, eight people were burned to death after one person in their group was accused of making a bystander's penis magically disappear.

Arctic Ice Seal Found on N.C. Beach

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, N.C. Sep 16, 2006 (AP)— A wayward Arctic ice seal was found Friday on a beach in southern North Carolina, far from its usual habitat.

The 4-foot-long seal didn't seem to be emaciated and growled at beachgoers at Wrightsville Beach, said Ann Pabst, a marine biologist at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. It was taken to the state aquarium.

"An ice seal, by definition, is out of habitat when it's found this far south," Pabst said.

Mums in burger backlash over healthy eating

TWO mums are organising junk food runs to a South Yorkshire school - because they don't agree with its healthy eating policy. Julie Critchlow and Sam Walker deliver fish and chips, pies, and burgers to hungry kids at Rawmarsh Comprehensive every day.

They say they have started the food runs because pupils are turning their noses up at the 'low fat rubbish' served up at the school.

And they are angry at a recent ruling by headteacher John Lambert that pupils can't leave at lunchtime to visit the local chippy - and should eat pasta, salads and sandwiches.

The two mums say demand is so great they have had to start using an old supermarket trolley for their lunchtime deliveries.

Sweet tooth bandit at large in Canada

DURHAM, Ontario, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Police in Durham, Ontario, are looking for a woman who robbed a gas station at gunpoint, then took a tub of ice cream, along with cigarettes and cash.

Police told the newspaper, the robber, said to be in her 40's, was quite cool about everything, reportedly walking into the store and calmly informing the clerk she was robbing it.

When the clerk tried to shove her aside, she pointed a gun at him. The clerk then ran off as the woman filled her bags with cash, cigarettes and sweets.

Officers called in a K-9 unit but came up with nothing.

"This was pretty unusual because we don't see a lot of women armed robbers," Sgt. Paul McCurbin of the Durham Regional Police told the Star. "And she seemed pretty cool about it. She seemed to take her time."

McCurbin told the Star that male robbers are usually more aggressive and do not take time to pick out ice cream.

Zombie outbreak strikes Cambodia.

There has been a small outbreak of “zombism” in a small town near the border of Laos in North-Eastern Cambodia.

The culprit was discovered to be mosquitoes native to that region carrying a new strain of Malaria which thus far has a 100 percent mortality rate and kills victims in fewer than 2 days.

After death, this parasite is able to restart the heart of its victim for up to two hours after the initial demise of the person where the individual behaves in extremely violent ways from what is believed to be a combination of brain damage and a chemical released into blood during “resurrection.”

Cambodian officials say that the outbreak has been contained and the public has no need to worry.

General Ary Serey had this to say, "We have obtained samples of this new parasite and plan to learn how it starts the heart and other major organs of the deceased. We intend to use this to increase the quality of life for all."

Friday, September 15, 2006

51-Year Old Woman Strangles Hit Man Hired to Kill Her

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Portland Police say the estranged husband of the woman who killed an intruder with her bare hands has been accused of hiring him to kill her.

Michael Kuhnhausen, 58, was charged Thursday with criminal conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder.

Detectives say Kuhnhausen let Edward Haffey into Susan Kuhnhausen's house. Detectives say he waited for Susan Kuhnhausen with a claw hammer to arrive home from her nursing job.

Haffey struck her several times. According to a court affidavit obtained by The Oregonian newspaper, she managed to take the hammer away. The intruder bit Kuhnhausen several times. She bit back.

Finally, the 51-year-old woman was able to choke the life out of him. Portland Police found the 59-year-old Haffey dead on the floor. Susan Kuhnhausen told homicide detectives she believed her husband was involved.

Marshmallow Mary Meets her Maker

A UK woman collapsed at the Western Fair earlier this week after participating in a marshmallow-eating contest has died.

A London Health Sciences Centre spokesperson confirmed the patient’s death today, but would not release her name at the request of the woman’s family.

The woman collapsed Wednesday evening after participating in a Chubby Bunny contest, in which participants stuff 100 marshmallows into their mouth and then attempt to say the words “Chubby Bunny.”

Western Fair manager Dave Taylor also confirmed the death and was quoted as saying, “Marshmallow Mary (as she was called) knew her stuff, I had once seen her put 150 marshmallows in her mouth. Just before she gasped her last breath it seemed she was still trying to say Chubby Bunny, to win the prize, but all I heard was, oh fuck!”

Chubby Bunny is expecting a large law-suit to be filed by Mary’s family. The company is reportedly going to change the rules for future contests and only require 75 marshmallow to be stuffed into a contestants mouth prior to speaking those words, which win you a free 20 lbs. bag of Chubby marshmallows.

Man needed surgery after sex with hedgehog

A Serbian man needed emergency surgery after he had sex with a hedgehog on a witchdoctor's advice.

Zoran Nikolovic, 35, from Belgrade, says the witchdoctor told him it would cure his premature ejaculation.

But he ended up in an operating theatre after the hedgehog's needles left his penis severely lacerated.

A hospital spokesman said: "The animal was apparently unhurt and the patient came off much worse from the encounter. We have managed to repair the damage to his penis."

OAP WHO FELL DOWN MANHOLE IGNORED BY PASSERS-BYS

A GRANDAD stuck down a manhole had his cries for help ignored by passers-by for almost an hour.

Clive Colins, 65, was about to open the boot of his car in a busy shopping car park when he stepped back on to a loose manhole cover and tumbled down a 5ft hole.

About 30 people walked past him, even though he was yelling for help and his head, a leg and an arm were stuck above the surface. One woman even parked her car next to him. But she ignored the retired garage owner's cries as she put the roof up on her convertible.

Eventually, the stricken pensioner managed to get his mobile out of his pocket and dialled 999. He was treated in hospital for two broken ribs, a suspected broken jaw and a leg wound that needed 47 stitches.

Clive, of Bournemouth, said: "I must have seen at least 30 people walk past within a few yards of me. I was shouting, 'Help me' and asked for someone to call an ambulance as loud as I could. But everyone just ignored me. I couldn't believe it. I was in agony and could hardly move.

"It's a sign of the times and an awful shame that people don't realise how important it is to look out for others.

"I had backed my car into a space and just got out to get something out of the boot. As I tried to open it, I stepped back on to the manhole, the cover tilted and I fell in. I landed at such an angle that I became stuck by my arms and legs.

A real-life hamburgler

Lake Havasu City police are looking for a real-life Hamburglar.

A man broke into a McDonald's early Sunday morning through a roof vent.

Surveillance video shows the man turning on the grill, cooking and eating a couple of burgers before fleeing.

When he fled, the burger bandit triggered a door alarm that a morning shift manager heard when she pulled into work nearly two hours later.

She found a piece of drywall on the kitchen floor, and another employee noticed the grill was greasy.

Damage to the McDonald's is estimated at $150.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Korean park showcases talking elephant

Sep. 13th, 2006 -- The word “attraction” at amusement parks now has a new meaning. Everland Park in South Korea has a new attraction. The 16 year-old elephant Kosik is making news and grabbing people’s attention at this South Korean park. Kosik can reportedly speak up to eight words in Korean, some of these words include: “Sit”, “Yes”, and “No”.

The trainers/scientists are unsure whether or not the elephant understands these words, but further research will be conducted. Kosik the elephant makes these words by sticking his trunk in his mouth, and wiggling it as he exhales, much like a human using his fingers to make a loud whistle.

Boxes Of Cocaine Left Behind In Rental Van

(CBS4) LAWRENCE Police in Lawrence arrested two people following the discovery of more than $1 million in cocaine in a rental van. Investigators found even more cocaine in a Methuen home along with $120,000.

Workers at a car rental agency found the drugs inside two liquor boxes in the back of the van on Tuesday morning. The cocaine was covered in transmission fluid to mask the scent.

The van was rented to 30-year-old Nicole Paquette of Haverhill. A detective posed as a car rental employee, called Paquette and told her to come pick up the boxes.

Paquette arrived at the store at short time later and was arrested. Police also arrested 44-year-old Angel Ayala, of Philadelphia, at a home in Methuen. Inside the home they found another $1.5 million in cocaine and $120,000 cash.

Paquette and Ayala were scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Lawrence District Court.

British tourist gets lost in Australian outback twice in 8 days

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - A 50-year-old British tourist was rescued by police for the second time in just over a week Tuesday after twice getting lost in Australia's rugged outback.

The man, whose identity was not released, sparked a major air and ground search last Tuesday after he called police from his cellphone and told them he had become lost while hiking in a national park north of Alice Springs.

He was found and taken to a hospital, where he was treated for sunburn and dehydration.

On Tuesday, the man again called police from his mobile phone to say he was lost in roughly the same area, Northern Territory police said in a statement.

Police mounted another search involving three helicopters and a ground crew and eventually found the man five hours later.

He was taken to a hospital, where he underwent a medical assessment and was treated for dehydration, the statement said.

Poisoned pigeons fall from sky in Texarkana

EXARKANA, Texas (AP) -- Poisoned pigeons began nose-diving into pavement and dying on downtown sidewalks, marring the city's annual festival.

Authorities cleaned up more than 25 sick or dead birds that apparently had eaten poisoned corn from the roof of a nearby bank branch.

"The death of these pigeons was more than an unfortunate accident," local CapitalOne Bank President Lacy McMillen said in Tuesday's online edition of Texarkana Gazette. "It was not the intention of the bank to harm any of these birds."

McMillen said the bank hired an exterminator to handle its pigeon problem after a bird entered the bank and defecated on a customer.

The company, which hired Anti-Pest Co. Inc. of Shreveport, Louisiana, said its goal with the treated corn was to sicken pigeons, so they would leave the rooftop. Death was sometimes an unfortunate side effect, company president Jarrod Horton said.

A similar pigeon control effort at a hospital in Schenectady, New York, led to a hazardous materials incident in July. Emergency workers spent hours searching the hospital grounds and putting dead birds in red hazardous-waste bags after an exterminator used a pesticide to get rid of pigeons on the roof. Fire Chief Robert Farstad had described the scene as birds "coming down like dive bombers."

Vera Martin, working at Texarkana's weekend Quadrangle Festival, said the poisoning in the Texas-Arkansas border city sends a bad message to children.

"I think it's cruelty to animals," she said. "What other animals could be killed in the process of doing this?"

Dad breaks leg trying to cure phobia

ANTANA, Fla. - It seems a father's plan to cure his daughter's fear of heights fell short. Troy Stewart and his 10-year-old daughter were on their daily bike ride about 7:45 p.m. Monday when Stewart, 31, suggested they jump off a 15 foot bridge. Stewart held his daughter Meagan Stewart's hand as they jumped off the bridge into the Intracoastal Waterway, authorities said.

"At first he said, `Do you want to do it or not?'" Meagan said. "I thought, `It's kind of high,' and then he's like, `Trust me.'"

Meagan made the jump safely, but her father ended up with a broken leg. She rode her bike half a mile home and told her mother, Mandy Potter. Potter called authorities who found Stewart waiting on the edge of Lantana Bicentennial Park.

"In his mind, he was playing," Potter, 32, said of her partner of 10 years. "But I don't condone his child's play."

Stewart was not charged since Meagan jumped willingly. Officials from the state Department of Children & Families planned to interview Potter.

"This is an example of what not to do as a parent," police Capt. Andy Rundle said. "And let this be a lesson to everybody: Somebody's tried it, and it's not a good idea."

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Eye-popping record bid

A Brazilian man is hoping for a place in the record books for his ability to pop his eyes out of their sockets.

Claudio Pinto from Brazil is hoping for a place in the record books for his ability to pop his eyes out of their sockets /Resende

Claudio Pinto, 48 is making a living out of shows where he pops his eyes out, Terra Noticias Populares reports. He reckons he can pop both eyes 95% out of their sockets.

Mr Pinto done various tests and doctors say they have never seen or heard of a person who can pop the eyes as much as him.

Mr Pinto said: "It is a pretty easy way to make money. "I can pop my eyes out four centimetres each, it is a gift from God, I feel blessed."

Gaddafi says Coke is African

Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi claims Coca Cola is African and wants a share of the money.

He says Coca-Cola should pay a percentage of every can or bottle sold to governments across the continent.

Speaking at a celebration marking the seventh anniversary of the African Union, Gaddafi said: "The essential ingredients for Coca Cola come from African plants and so compensation must be paid to us."

The Libyan leader is known for his bizarre claims and in the past claimed William Shakespeare was actually an Arab immigrant to England called Sheikh Zubeir.

Vietnam’s ‘Electric Man’ electrocuted

HANOI, Vietnam - A Vietnamese man who once appeared on national television to demonstrate his ability to resist electric shocks has been electrocuted while repairing a generator, an official said on Tuesday.

Nguyen Van Hung, aged in his early 40s, was killed in Tay Ninh province near the Cambodian border while repairing the generator without first cutting the power supply, a local official said.

“When alive, he used to demonstrate at our office how he would insert two fingers into the electrical plughole without problems,” the official said.

Hung, nicknamed “Hung Electric”, had appeared on television’s “Strange Stories of Vietnam.’’

Thief steals 300 pounds of burgers

CROMWELL, Ind. - A thief with a taste for pork put a damper on a fund-raiser for scholarships by making off with nearly 350 pounds of porkburgers and hot dogs, police said.

Cromwell Town Marshal Rich Snyder said the 300 pounds of porkburgers and 48 pounds of hot dogs were taken either late Saturday or early Sunday from the Cromwell Community Center's walk-in freezer in the town about 35 miles northwest of Fort Wayne.

The theft was discovered Sunday morning when members of the Cromwell-Kimmell Lions Club went to pick up the meat. The group had planned to sell porkburgers and hot dogs Sunday at the Stone's Trace festival to raise money for scholarships for West Noble High School students.

Mini Guns Put ATF On Alert

NEW YORK Federal ATF Agents issued an officer safety advisory on what is called the world’s smallest gun after a CBS 2 inquiry. The Alert has been issued both in the New York and nationally to all Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives criminal investigators and will be passed on to other federal agencies.

ATF has confiscated thousands of disguised or miniature guns -- from flashlights that shoot a .25 caliber bullet to pen guns.

The latest miniature gun that is alarming ATF agents is the SwissMiniGun. It’s extremely small -- just over two inches long. It comes with tiny bullets designed especially for the weapon that can penetrate skin. Even in its holster, this gun is so small that law enforcement experts say it could pass for a keychain ornament.

According to William McMahon, special agent in charge of the New York ATF office, that makes it the perfect stealth weapon for a variety of criminals.

“A terrorist, a criminal trying to sneak into bank, all kinds of criminals. I can see no legitimate reason to own this gun. It seems to be just made to be hidden,” McMahon said.

Real Corpse Found on CSI: New York Set

Things got a bit too realistic on the set of CSI: New York on Tuesday, where an actual mummified body was discovered inside the building where production was underway.

Though downtown Los Angeles was subbing for the streets of New York, the corpse was real, a source close to the show tells PEOPLE, who says the remains were found on the 5th floor of the building – only two floors below the actors and film crew.

The body, the source says, "was discovered by a building engineer who checked on the tenant because he had not paid rent for the month."

Making matters weirder is that the show has already shot an episode revolving around the discovery of a mummified body.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Ninja bank robber finally runs out of moves

ATHENS (Reuters) - A Greek bank robber armed with ninja throwing stars finally ran out of moves on Tuesday when police arrested him after an Athens bank robbery.

Petros Onen, 49, had held up 11 small suburban bank branches making away with 50,000 euros ($63,590) in recent months, threatening to throw his razor-sharp, palm-size stars -- made famous by the Japanese ninja warriors -- at cashiers, police said.

His luck ran out when undercover policemen at the last bank he robbed followed him home and arrested him with his loot, his throwing stars, a fake gun and a list of other bank branches.

Jesus is My Chiropractor!

A Pennsylvania woman has found Jesus, and he’s living right inside of her!

Has the Lord decided that it’s time to get caught up to the advancement of medical science?

After centuries of people claiming to find the images of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ in fabric, in water stains on walls, and in patterns in sand, a recent sighting of the likeness of Jesus is a little more high-tech.

There is a clear image rendering Jesus at the Crucifixion visible in the film of an MRI of her spine, says Rhonda Hodge, 34, of Pittsburgh. This miraculous MRI shows a detailed image of Jesus on the cross, she claims.

Plagued by numbness of the neck and left arm, the MRI was performed to try to help address a bulging disc. Upon receiving the films of her spine, Hodge was astonished to discover the presence of the Lord in her backbone!

Hodge claims that pictures of her spine clearly show a detailed rendering of Christ’s Passion. "You can almost seen the thorns around the head and the nails... the nails through the feet," she said.