Seattle Woman ‘Marries’ Building

Seattle Woman ‘Marries’ Building
A Seattle woman recently exchanged vows with an abandoned warehouse that is set to be demolished to make way for a new apartment building. Babylonia Aivaz and 16 friends went to the warehouse in December to protest the planned development of an apartment complex. Calling it a “gay marriage,” Aivaz was asked by the attending minister if she would “love and cherish and protect this warehouse.” She responded in verse, quoting the Cat Power song “Sea of Love.” “Come with me my love, to the sea, the sea of love. I want to tell you how much I love you.” She then added her own verses. “Do you remember when we met? I cleaned your rooms and wash your floors, built community, opened some doors. You changed my life. I’ll never forget the day we met. I’ll cherish your community spirit until the day I die.” After the wedding, a large banner reading: “I Do” was hung outside the building as the attendees sang “Lean On Me.” Sadly, demolition on the building began ahead of schedule, starting last Friday.

Wired Chicken - Have you ever found something "wrong" in your order?

Wired Chicken
A New York bus driver is suing a fast food chicken outlet, claiming he nearly choked on a two-inch coil of wire that was cooked into his food. Lajzer Grynsztajn, 50, has filed suit seeking unspecified damages against JFK Fried Chicken in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn, claiming he needed emergency surgery to remove the wire that had lodged in his throat. The 11-year Metropolitan Transportation Authority veteran said he stopped by the chicken place January 9th, sat down and ate a meal of two chicken breasts and fries. “I felt a sharp pain, like I was choking,” Grynsztajn said. “I thought I was choking on a bone.” He left the restaurant, started coughing up blood and wound up at Lutheran Medical Center, where a doctor discovered a wire so deep down his throat he had to be knocked out before the doctor could take the wire out. Grynsztajn says he doesn’t eat takeout food anymore.
 

Snake On A Face - How do you respond?

Snake On A Face
Police in Madison, Wisconsin, said a woman who decided to take a python out of its terrarium during a book club meeting ended up with the serpent latched onto her face. A police spokesman said the 31-year-old woman was attending a book club meeting January 19th at another member’s home and decided to take Annie, a 12-year-old ball python measuring about 4 feet long, our of its terrarium. “She just wanted to hold her,” Joel DeSpain said. “She apparently had prior experience handling snakes and had no reason to believe she was putting herself in danger.” However, the non-venomous snake bit into the woman’s right cheek and refused to disengage until the owner was able to remove it. The snake was returned to its enclosure and the woman’s injuries were treated by a doctor. “It was sort of a happy ending,” DeSpain said. “The women ended up with no scars and no lasting emotional trauma.”

Salem’s First Witch Shop Closing - Do you believe in witches?

Salem’s First Witch Shop Closing
The proprietor of the first witch shop in Salem, Massachusetts, is closing the business after about 40 years. Laurie Cabot, 78, announced on the website for the Official Witch Shop that she is closing the Wharf Street store for good today. “Closing my store was a very difficult decision, but one that I am pleased with,” Cabot wrote. “It has been a dream come true to have had the experience of operating my stores and the countless wonderful people I have met. I will continue to teach my classes on Witchcraft and Tarot, still very much available, as are my physic readings and workshops.” Cabot said she will continue to post updates on her classes, workshops and readings on the store’s website.

 

Woman Finds Out Rats Multiply The Hard Way - Worst pet you have ever owned?

Woman Finds Out Rats Multiply The Hard Way
Animal rescuers in Massachusetts said a woman who bought two rats to save them from being snake food soon found herself with 71 rodents. The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the woman bought the rats from a pet shop in Sandwich to save them from being food for a snake. She contacted the society about three months later when the number of rapidly breeding rats ballooned to 71. “She realized she was in over her head, and she drove to Boston,” MSPCA spokesman Rob Halpin said. Halpin added that the incident took place only days after a Lawrence man brought in 94 hamsters not long after he purchased only two. The spokesman said the hamsters will likely have better luck finding new homes than the rats will.

Big Apple Getting New Typewriters - Do typerwriters still have a place in business?

Big Apple Getting New Typewriters
Some workers in New York City are getting new typewriters. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is fond of his iPad and electronic gadgets, says he’ll turn his city into the “Silicon Alley.” Bloomberg has employees of several municipal agencies working on a fleet of 1,172 typewriters. Employees in the New York Police Department, Department of Buildings and Human Resources Administration and 18 other agencies will be getting new electronic typewriters to replace aging ones. The Department of Administrative Services issued a request for bids for new typewriters to replace the geriatric assortment now in use. “The contract is for typewriters, which are primarily used to complete carbon-copy forms that are not computerized,” spokeswoman Julianne Cho said.

Monster Emerald Gets Zero Bids - What do you think it is worth?

Monster Emerald Gets Zero Bids
A Canadian auction house said a watermelon-sized gem believed to be the world’s largest emerald failed to gain a single bid after its co-owner was arrested. Western Star Auctions of Kelowna, British Columbia, said there were no offers for the 57,500-carat green stone, which weighs 25 pounds, after a memo was given to bidders at the Saturday auction explaining that co-owner Regan Reaney had been arrested Friday on charges unrelated to the emerald. Reaney was arrested on outstanding warrants from multiple fraud charges from Hamilton, Ontario. Odenbach, owner of Western Star Auctions, said the future of the emerald is up to the consignors.

A REAL Milk Truck - Do you want to see it in your community?

A REAL Milk Truck
Artist Jill Miller is taking her pro-breast feeding message on the road. She’s created what she calls the “Milk Truck.” It’s an old box truck with a huge pink breast on top. The nipple is a flashing red light. Miller, who’s also a mom, says she wanted to do something funny on a serious issue. She says young mothers need help and encouragement to breastfeed their babies. Miller also teaches at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Art in Pittsburgh.

 

Big Gator - What is your favortie Gator related TV Show?

Big Gator
Mighty Mike is headed back to Kentucky. The giant alligator is expected to return to Kentucky’s Newport Aquarium in the coming weeks. Mighty Mike is 14 feet long and weighs 800 pounds. Alligators in the wild usually don’t grow longer than 12 feet. Mike was captured in a Florida lake in 2000. He had been on display at the aquarium for five months last year. This time the huge gator is expected to stay for a year.

Super Bowl Blood Donor - How much are you willing to give?

Super Bowl Blood Donor
Carol Sikler is going to the Super Bowl – and all it took was a lot of blood. The Indiana woman won a pair of tickets to the big game for being a big blood donor. The Indiana Blood Center says she’s donated more 140 units of whole blood or blood products. She says she became a regular blood donor to repay the units used by her late husband. Sikler is an Indianapolis Colts fan, but she says Sunday she’ll be rooting for the New York Giants

Camel Predicts Giants Will Win The Super Bowl - Do you believe animals can pick winners? who is your pick?

Camel Predicts Giants Will Win The Super Bowl
A camel in New Jersey predicts that the New York Giants will win the Super Bowl. Princess, the star of New Jersey’s Popcorn Park Zoo, has correctly picked the winner of five of the last six Super Bowls. She went 14 and 6 predicting regular season and playoff games this year, and has a lifetime record of 88-51. The Bactrian camel’s prognostication skills stem from her love of graham crackers. Zoo general manager John Bergmann writes the name of the competing teams on each hand and then places a cracker on each. Whichever hand Princess nibbles from is her pick. On Wednesday, she made her pick with no hesitation at all, predicting bad news for the Patriots even though Las Vegas oddsmakers have New England favored by about 3 points. Her only miscue in the big game was picking the Indianapolis Colts over the New Orleans Saints two years ago. The camel was once the personal pet of heiress Doris Duke, the only child of tobacco and electric energy tycoon James Buchanan Duke.

Town Official’s Nephew Busted Again - Should family affect your job?

Town Official’s Nephew Busted Again
A nephew of the town president of Cicero, Illinois, allegedly used a city hall car while on break from his city job to steal beer from a supermarket. Joseph Terrana, 41, was charged with stealing $287 worth of beer on two occasions, loading the allegedly pilfered suds into a Town of Cicero car while wearing a Town of Cicero employee jacket. A Cicero spokesperson says Terrana is related to president Larry Dominick by marriage and that Cicero’s inspector general is investigating his arrest. It’s at least the fifth time Terrana has been arrested. He’s been convicted three times, including twice for theft.

School Bans Ugg Boots - What do you think is the dumbest ban in schools today?s

School Bans Ugg Boots
A Philadelphia school has banned Ugg boots because students have been using them to hide banned cell phones inside. The ban at Pottstown Middle School in suburban Philadelphia starts today. School District superintendent Reed Lindley said the school principal asked for the boot ban “because of the classroom disruptions that are resulting from ringing cell phones.” Students at the school can avoid trouble with school officials by wearing boots that lace up and usually have a more snug fit. First-time offenders will get detention, and subsequent violations include two detentions, followed by confiscation of the phone.

College Student Fined $200 For Stealing 79-Cent Donut - Have you ever "Forgot" to pay?

College Student Fined $200 For Stealing 79-Cent Donut
A Wyoming college student was charged with misdemeanor shoplifting after employees at a store say they spotted him leaving without anteing up the $.79 for the donut. Rather than go to trial, the 19-year-old made a deal with the city attorney to pay a $200 fine, $10 in court costs and the original $.79 he should have paid in the first place. The student, who was with other patrons who paid for their purchases at the register, said he simply forgot to pay for the purloined pastry and he attempted to make good by paying for it. But the store’s owner maintained that, “Policy is policy... Paid for is OK; not paid for is shoplifting.”

Eatery Bids Goodbye To 2-Foot Hot Dog - Will you miss the 24 inches?

Eatery Bids Goodbye To 2-Foot Hot Dog
Connecticut restaurant Doogie’s said its famous 2-foot hot dog will soon be a thing of the past after its manufacturer closes down. R. Elliot Aronheim, co-owner of the Newington restaurant, said he received a call recently from Michael Greiner, president of the Grote & Weigel plant in Bloomfield, saying the plant would be closing down after 122 years, leaving the restaurant without a supplier for the 2-foot wieners. Aronheim said he has contacted other meatpackers to replace the items on the menus for Doogie’s and his Clam Digger franchises in Waterbury, Bristol and Manchester, but he has not yet found a supplier of 24-inch frankfurters, which were once featured on the Travel Channel’s “Man vs. Food.”

California Trying To Give Away A Highway - Want it?

California Trying To Give Away A Highway
California’s transit agency is trying to give away a highway that dead ends in the San Gabriel mountains over Los Angeles, but no one wants it. The U.S. Forest Service and Los Angeles County both want Highway 39 to remain open. The highway provides access to Angeles National Forest. However, no one wants to assume the cost of maintaining a road subject to damage from forest fires, landslides, falling rocks and floods. Officials put the annual upkeep at $1.5 million. Highway 39 runs from the city of Azusa to Crystal Lake, where the Forest Service recently spent $6 million upgrading a campground. When it was built in the 1920s, it connected with the Angeles Crest Highway, but a 1978 landslide blocked the last 4.4 miles. The highway provides access to about 500 homes and is vital for some business owners.

UPS Driver Goes 50 Years Accident-Free - How long have you gone?

UPS Driver Goes 50 Years Accident-Free
UPS is celebrating a first for one of its drivers – 50 years behind the wheel without an accident. Company officials said Ohio driver Ron Sowder showed what Brown can do. The Navy veteran figures over the last 50 year he’s driven more than four million miles and delivered more than 35 million packages. Sowder says staying accident-free is tougher these days, noting more “distracted driving” by other drivers.

Pro Bowl Twittering Allowed - Would you like to see UN-edited tweets from Sports stars during games?

Pro Bowl Twittering Allowed
Players in Sunday’s Pro Bowl will be allowed to do something different – tweet. The NFL is relaxing its social media policy for the game. Pro Bowl players can post messages from the sidelines before the game and during halftime. The league will even set up computers near the benches. The players can also use their own cell phones to post Twitter messages. The players will be tweeting with the hashtag ProBowl.

 

Thomas Jefferson Exhibit Explores Contradictions - Let history be or is it right to correct it, change it, or make it go away?

Thomas Jefferson Exhibit Explores Contradictions
How could a person who declared that “all men are created equal” also own slaves all of his life? It’s a question people will always wonder about Thomas Jefferson, the nation’s third president. And it’s a question that will be considered in a new exhibit opening in the capital of the nation he helped establish with the Declaration of Independence. The exhibit looks at Jefferson’s Monticello plantation in Virginia as seen through the lives of six slave families and artifacts that were found where they lived. The display will be on view at the National Museum of American History through mid-October. The exhibit includes a look at the family of Sally Hemings, a slave who most historians believe had an intimate relationship with Jefferson – one that produced children.

Couple Fined $1.6 Million For Cutting Down Trees - Your property, should you have control?

Couple Fined $1.6 Million For Cutting Down Trees
A Florida couple was fined $1.6 million for cutting down mangrove trees on their property without proper state and city permits. Roger and Myrna Byrd of Jupiter removed 109 mangroves, a tree Florida has protected since 1985, in late 2010. “Those mangroves will take two or three decades to grow back. It is imperative the judicial system support laws to protect these critical habitats,” said Albrey Arrington, the Loxahatchee River Environmental Control District’s executive director. A judge ruled that the Byrds must pay the city $15,000 per tree and pay legal fees. Neighbors had testified Roger Byrd had complained on several occasions the mangroves were blocking his view of the river. Mangroves, which can grow to a height of 25 feet, act as a nursery for sea life, filter water and reduce erosion. The Byrds’ attorney said they would appeal. The couple had turned down a compromise offer last year to pay a fine of $109,000, or $1,000 a tree.

Elephant Gets Contact Lens - Think glasses would have made her look smarter?

Elephant Gets Contact Lens
A 45-year-old Asian elephant at a Netherlands zoo has become the first of her species in Europe to be outfitted with a contact lens. Officials with the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam said the elephant, Win Thida, had to undergo surgery and be outfitted with a contact lens after her eye was badly injured during a fight with another elephant. 

Traffic Cop Wants Job Back After Appearing In Porno - Think he should be able to continue to serve?

Traffic Cop Wants Job Back After Appearing In Porno
A former Los Angeles traffic officer who was fired after he appeared in a pornographic video while on duty and in uniform is asking for his job back. John Dancler, 23, who was dismissed by the Los Angeles Civil Service Commission in July after officials were alerted to the video on an adult website, appeared before a commission hearing officer Wednesday and asked to be reinstated. Dancler’s attorney said his client was a “convenient scapegoat” and his termination was unwarranted. A Transportation Department spokesman said a second officer involved in the incident was subject to “appropriate discipline.”

Philippe’s Coffee Goes Up - What one item price has gotten out of control?

Philippe’s Coffee Goes Up
You won’t be able to get a 9-cent cup of coffee in L.A. anymore. Philippe’s restaurant is raising the price of a cup of Joe to 45 cents. The coffee’s been 9 cents since 1977. But Philippe’s owners say their coffee costs have risen too high to keep the bargain price. The new price goes into effect next week. Philippe’s opened in 1908 and is also known for its French dip sandwiches.

 

Patriots Fan Busted For Bank Robbery - Have you busted someone because of Facebook?

Patriots Fan Busted For Bank Robbery
Seabrook, New Hampshire, police Lieutenant Mike Gallagher says one Patriots fan won’t be going to the Super Bowl. Benjamin Hammond has been charged with bank robbery. Investigators say Hammond’s Facebook page has a picture of him wearing the same Patriots cap and light jacket he wore while robbing two banks. Police say they found the clothes in a dumpster.

 

Jail Allows Online Visits - Should inmates be allowed to go online?

Jail Allows Online Visits
A county jail in Garden City, Kansas, now allows online visiting. Family and friends of inmates don’t have to travel beyond their computers. But this is no get into jail free program. The online jailhouse visits cost 50 cents a minute, or $10 for the maximum 20 minute chat.

Lost Cell Phone Found In Landfill - Where is the strangest place you have found your phone?

Lost Cell Phone Found In Landfill
The “Find My iPhone” app works – even in a garbage dump. Iowa resident Allison Peterson figured she had mistakenly dropped her iPhone in a recycling bin. She used the Find My iPhone app to follow a garbage truck online all the way to the dump. Her husband and several workers at the landfill sorted through the trash until they found the missing smartphone. Mark Peterson says he’s scored some brownie points with his wife. He also saved a lot of money by not having to replace the iPhone. Peterson sent a two-page letter thanking the landfill workers for their help.

Penguin Poops On Senate Floor - Think that is the first time there has been poo on the floor?

Penguin Poops On Senate Floor
Paula the penguin left a little something behind on the Kentucky state Senate floor – bird poop. Senate President Pro Tem Katie Stine brought the penguin along as lawmakers considered a resolution honoring the Newport Aquarium. The aquarium is being recognized for its work protecting sea life and penguins. Paula then made her contribution to the discussion.

FedEx Driver Makes Bomb Joke At Army Base - Funny OR Fail?

FedEx Driver Makes Bomb Joke At Army Base
A FedEx driver is facing a felony terrorism charge after he allegedly joked that a package was “probably a bomb” at a U.S. Army base. Military police evacuated 215 people from the U.S Army Corps of Engineers trailer and surrounding area at Camp Williams. According to officials, a woman asked what was in the package the driver was delivering to an employee at the base and he replied, “It’s probably a bomb.” He told cops later that he said it by mistake.

Man Arrested For Smoking Pot On Plane - What is the strangest thing you have seen someone do on a plain?

Man Arrested For Smoking Pot On Plane
Police say a 43-year-old man on a JetBlue flight from Orlando, Florida, to Newark, New Jersey, allegedly smoked marijuana in the lavatory. A flight attendant knocked on the bathroom door when the flight began its descent, and Adam Blumenkranz emerged smelling strongly of marijuana. When the flight touched down in Newark, police met Blumenkranz at the gate. He told them he was allowed to smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes and showed police a bag of marijuana and a glass smoking pipe. Police immediately arrested him. Blumenkranz was charged with possession of less than 50 grams of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was later released.

Woman Tries To Deposit Stolen Soda Cans

Woman Tries To Deposit Stolen Soda Cans
A Lynn, Massachusetts, woman was charged with larceny after she allegedly stole 18 12-packs of soda and tried to feed them – unemptied – into a can-return machine. Tina Cafarelli was arrested Monday after a police officer watching loss-prevention video at the a Stop & Shop observed her purchase the 12-packs and immediately attempt to deposit the full cans of soda into the store’s digital can-return machine. Cafarelli allegedly purchased the soda with a stolen electronic benefit transfer card and gave police two false names and two false Social Security numbers when confronted. She was charged with larceny by false pretense, destruction of property, obstruction of justice and receiving stolen property.

Woman Accused Of Stealing Girl’s Dog - What would be a fair punishment?

Woman Accused Of Stealing Girl’s Dog
Authorities in Florida arrested a 57-year-old woman accused of shoving a 10-year-old girl to the ground and stealing her pet dog. The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said the girl grabbed the pit bull by its collar around 4:20 p.m. Monday after it got away from her and fled into Pride Park in Bradenton. The girl said a woman, later identified as Catherine Warren, 57, pulled up in her car and told her it was obvious the dog was being abused and needed to be taken away. Warren pushed the girl to the ground and fled with the dog, deputies said. The deputies located Warren and arrested her on a charge of robbery. The sheriff’s office did not say whether the dog was returned to the girl.
 

$100 Hot Dog Includes Cognac, Lobster - Worth trying?

$100 Hot Dog Includes Cognac, Lobster
The world’s most expensive hot dog has debuted in Vancouver, costing $100 for the foot-long dog infused with cognac, lobster and Kobe beef. The founder of dougieDog Hot Dogs, dougie luv, said in a release his brainchild uses 100-year-old Louis XIII cognac that costs more than $2,000 a bottle. He named the creation the Dragon Dog in honor of the Chinese New Year, which this year celebrates the year of the dragon. The dog is nestled in Japanese Kobe beef from hand-massaged cows that are seared in olive and truffle oils, lobster shreds and a picante sauce whose ingredients Mr. luv wouldn’t disclose. He said he intends to contact the Guinness Book of Records to unseat the previous most-expensive hot dog at New York’s Serendipity restaurant, which sells for $69. luv said the new hot dog would be a regular menu item and not a limited offer.

Super Bowl Scarves - Good use of inmates time?

Super Bowl Scarves
It’s a warm souvenir for an army of Super Bowl volunteers. Organizers of the big game are giving blue-and-white Super Scarves to each of the 8,000 volunteers. The idea is to keep them warm in chilly Indy and make them highly visible during Super Bowl week. The scarves are six feet long and were knitted by everyone from great-grandmothers to prison inmates. The New York Giants and the New England Patriots will play in Indianapolis a week from Sunday.

Bud Lowering Liquor Level To Save On Taxes - What is more important, Savings or Acloho content?

Bud Lowering Liquor Level To Save On Taxes
The company that makes Bud, Beck’s and Stella Artois brands of beer is lowering its alcohol content in order to save millions in taxes. AB InBev is lowering the alcohol content levels from 5% down to 4.8%. In a report by The Grocer, they say the reduction will only affect sales in the UK. Ab InBe says they are making the change to save millions on productions costs, which will allow them to avoid a 7.8% price increase that is being imposed by some other beer makers.

Drone Pilot Finds River Of Blood

Drone Pilot Finds River Of Blood
A drone pilot hobbyist in Dallas stumbled across a river of blood coming from a large meatpacking plant. The small drone plane had a camera equipped, which captured images of the red river, suspected of being made of pig blood from the plant. The unidentified pilot said “Whatever it is, it was flat out gross.” The drone hobbyists says he captured the footage from the plant using only a point and shoot camera and a $75 airframe.

London’s Leaning Big Ben - What world landmark do you need to see in your life time?

London’s Leaning Big Ben
The landmark clock tower containing Big Ben at Britain’s Palace of Westminster, is tilting, while reports said the mother of all parliaments was slipping into the River Thames, raising fears over its future. The House of Commons commission, which is responsible for the upkeep of the 19th century neo-Gothic parliamentary estate popular with tourist photographs, was due to meet next week. Media reports said it would discuss a surveyors report which could recommend lawmakers move out for repairs costing up to $779.7 million. But a commission spokesman said there was no surveyor’s report, and members were only meeting to discuss setting up a group to look at general long-term renovation of the building. The clock tower, which houses the bell originally nicknamed Big Ben, leans about 46 cm to the left of its peak. A construction expert who worked on the leaning tower of Pisa in Italy and a multi-storey carpark under the houses of parliament in central London, said there was nothing to worry about, and it would take 10,000 years to reach an angle of concern. 

Granny Fights Off Moose With Shovel

Granny Fights Off Moose With Shovel
An 85-year-old Alaska woman used a grain shovel to fend off an agitated moose that was stomping her husband. George Murphy says his wife saved his life. The 82-year-old pilot, who flew for three decades for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, was hiking with his golden retrievers near the Willow airport on Friday. He saw the moose and dove in the snow, but the moose started stomping him. His wife, Dorothea, who is 5 feet tall and weighs 97 pounds, grabbed a big shovel from the back of their pickup truck and hit the moose in the body and head. “When it turned and started to go off slowly, I hit it with everything I had,” the 85-year-old said. She ran for help, and Murphy was rushed by medical helicopter to an Anchorage hospital, where he was in good condition yesterday with a gash to his head.

Missing Dog Found - More important to find your dog or car?

Missing Dog Found
Cody the dog is back home in suburban Washington. The dog was in a car when the car was stolen in Prince George’s County, Maryland, last month. Cody’s owners called police the other day to say they had heard from someone saying he had found their dog. Detectives went along with the owners to meet with the caller at a neutral location. The car had been found shortly after it was stolen. Police are still investigating.

 

Costa Concordia Put Up For Sale On eBay - If you could sell "anything" what would it be?

Costa Concordia Put Up For Sale On eBay
An Aussie, as a joke, tried to sell the stricken Costa Concordia cruise ship on eBay. The ad has since been pulled from the website. The listing read: “For sale, one cruise ship – slight damage to right-hand hull, mainly cosmetic.” The seller also warned the prospective bidders that there was “some water damage to interior” of the ship and said the new carpets may be needed. An eBay spokesperson said the ad, for which bidding reached $1008.88 with six days to go, was taken down because it was not appropriate for the website. There was a warning on the listing stating it was “obviously a fake and should not be taken seriously.” The website was flooded with questions in response to the post. One curious person asked if the rock on which the captain tripped before falling into the lifeboat would be included. The seller said yes.

Cats Causing ‘Conflicting Disabilities’ - Should animals be allowed to fly in the cabin of an air plane?

Cats Causing ‘Conflicting Disabilities’
Air Canada is complaining to the country’s officials about a problem caused by “conflicting ‘disabilities’“ when it comes to cats on flights. The airline was ordered by the Canadian Transportation Agency to either ban cats in the cabins of planes or outfit the vehicles with a cat-free zone with upgraded air circulation for passengers allergic to felines. Air Canada told the agency it was prepared to implement the buffer zones on most of its planes, but its fleet of planes do not have the capability for the upgraded circulation required. The airline said the situation presents a problem when passengers who need an “emotional support animal” wind up on the same flights as those with allergies. The airline said the problem is comprised of “conflicting ‘disabilities’ between a person with a disability by reason of their allergy to cats and a person with a disability having a cat as an emotional support animal.”

Pops The Figurine Collector - What do you collect?

Pops The Figurine Collector
Dennis “Pop” Ryan can hold history in the palm of his hand. He creates tiny figurines and uses them in historic scenes. His dioramas depict everything from the execution of an English king in the 1600s to World War II battles. Ryan sells some of his figurines for $4 apiece in the gift shop he runs at his RV park in New Mexico. But Pop tells a local paper most of his tiny people aren’t for sale

Napping Burglar - How do you wake him up?

Napping Burglar
Dennis Bannon was caught sleeping on the job. According to police, Bannon took a snooze after breaking into a central New Jersey home. The owner returned and found Bannon catching some zzz’s on the couch. Police say it took them several minutes to get Bannon to wake up. Bannon now faces a number of charges, including burglary and theft.

Man Plays Wrong Lottery Game And Wins $14.3 Million - How do you spend it?

Man Plays Wrong Lottery Game And Wins $14.3 Million
A Wisconsin man won the $14.3 million Megabucks pot, but was oblivious to his windfall for three days. The employees of the gas station where the winning ticket was sold wondered about who had scored the big payday and hoped it was one of their regulars, Napolean Elvord, a veteran in need of a kidney transplant. Employees even asked him if he was the big winner, and Napolean said it wasn’t. But when no one claimed the ticket, workers pressed him again, and it turns out that he had been looking at the wrong day’s results. “I think it was a mistake because I was trying to play the Powerball,” he said. Elvord is opting for a $10.2 million lump sum, or $6.87 million after taxes. He says he’ll take care of health insurance first and then move to his warmer home state of Texas.

South African Law Would Ban Meteorologists - Would you send your local weatherman to jail for 10 years?

South African Law Would Ban Meteorologists
Weather forecasters are often unreliable but would you send your local weatherman to jail for 10 years? A newly proposed law in South Africa would punish unauthorized weather forecasters with jail time and fines, according to Mother Nature Network. The law would require state-sanctioning for any weather forecasts issues outside of the governments South African Weather Service (SAWS). First offenses would be punished with a fine or up to 5 million rand (About $630,000) or five years in jail. The fines and jail time would be doubled for subsequent offenses.

Dragon Babies - Will you try to get lucky?

Dragon Babies
Taiwan has one of the world’s lowest birth rates. But suddenly, doctors are seeing a lot of pregnant women. It’s a dragon baby boom. Today marks the start of the Year of the Dragon. The Chinese believe that babies born during the year will be gifted with a lot of luck and strength. Officials expect a baby boom not only in China and Taiwan, but also in other Asian countries that observe the New Year festival, including Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. One office worker in Taiwan says she hadn’t been planning a second child – but now that the Year of the Dragon is here, she’s “happy to have another one.”

Mom Arrested For Letting 10-Year-Old Son Get Tattoo - Do you think a parent has the right to let their child get a Tattoo at any age?

Mom Arrested For Letting 10-Year-Old Son Get Tattoo
An Acworth, Georgia, mom is in hot water for allowing her 10-year-old son to get a tattoo in memory of his deceased brother. Chuntera Napier said her 12-year-old son, Malik, was struck and killed by a motorist in Macon about two years ago, and her other son, Gaquan, wanted a tattoo like hers to remember his older brother. In Georgia, it is illegal for a child under the age of 18 to receive a tattoo. Napier, who says she was unaware of the law, was charged with misdemeanor child cruelty after someone at Gaquan’s school saw the tattoo and reported her to the authorities. Napier was arrested on Tuesday and wasn’t released until Wednesday morning. “I always thought if a parent gives consent, then it’s fine,” Napier said. “How can somebody else say it’s not OK? He’s my child, and I have a right to say what I want for my child.” 

 

Driver Too Drunk To Know Tire Gone - Which was farther gone?

Driver Too Drunk To Know Tire Gone
A Florida man charged with drunken driving was so out of it he didn’t realize the left front tire of his Lexus was missing, police said. Kevin Blazer, 34, was arrested Wednesday morning in New Port Richey. A Pasco County sheriff’s deputy pulled the Blazer over after noticing smoke and sparks coming from the right front of the car, where the tire should have been. Blazer’s blood alcohol level tested at .131, well over the Florida limit of .08. He was released from jail later Wednesday.

School Passes On ‘Cougars’ As Mascot - Is there something wrong with "Cougars" in H.S.?

A Utah school district has decided against using “Cougars” as a mascot for a new high school in part because of the negative connotation of the word in popular culture. Canyons School District Superintendent David S. Doty said the school needed to choose a mascot and 23% of students voted they wanted it to be the Corner Canyon Cougars. Falcons, Raptors and Diamondbacks were the other choices on the ballot. But that didn’t sit well with parents who called in and complained that “Cougar” was a derogatory word because of how it’s made its way into our vocabulary for older women who like to date younger men. At least three Utah schools, including Brigham Young University, use cougar as a mascot.

Skateboarding Bank Robber - Think it might be safe to try the X games?

Skateboarding Bank Robber
Mexico City police have arrested a would-be bandit who rode his skateboard to bank robbery attempts. Police say Sergio Ledesma and his skateboard have been turned over to prosecutors after he allegedly attempted to rob two banks by whispering threats to tellers. Police say the teller at the first bank simply acted as if he hadn’t heard Ledesma, who then skated off to a second bank. The second teller told police Ledesma appeared to whisper a threat. So the teller set off a silent alarm, and counted out the money while the would-be robber waited patiently. Police said Friday Ledesma was still waiting when they arrived and arrested him.

Urinating Cat Causes Smoke - Cats...Inside or Outside pets?

Urinating Cat Causes Smoke
One western Pennsylvania fire department learned that there’s not necessarily fire wherever there’s smoke. New Castle’s assistant fire chief Jim Donston said firefighters were called when an electrical outlet on a floor was smoking, only to find the family’s cat urinated into the outlet. Donston says a Columbia Gas worker was at the house checking for a possible leak when he noticed the smoking outlet and called the fire department last Wednesday. Donston says firefighters “found the receptacle wet from cat urine” and shut off the electrical supply to that circuit.

 

Teacher Resigns After Giving Class Math Homework Involving Slavery

Teacher Resigns After Giving Class Math Homework Involving Slavery
A suburban Atlanta teacher has resigned following an investigation into third-grade students being assigned math homework with word problems about slavery. One of the problems was: “Each tree has 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?” Another: “If Frederick got two beatings each day, how many beatings did he get in one week?” A spokeswoman for Gwinnett County says four teachers gave out the assignment at Beaver Ridge Elementary and one of them has resigned. She declined to elaborate on what happened to the rest of them. The NAACP had called on the teachers to be fired.

Fans Make Last Vigil For ‘Poe Toaster’

Fans Make Last Vigil For ‘Poe Toaster’
For the third year, the “Poe Toaster” – who once faithfully marked the birth of Edgar Allan Poe with a tribute of three roses and cognac – failed to make the nocturnal trip to the writer’s original grave in Baltimore, apparently ending a tradition that lasted more than half a century. Yesterday was the anniversary of the 1809 birth of Poe, who died in Baltimore in 1849 at age 40. In an annual observance of Poe’s birth, a mysterious person dressed in black, flaunting a white scarf and wearing a wide-brimmed hat would visit the graveside monument at Baltimore’s Westminster Hall, a former church, and leave three roses and half a bottle of cognac. The sightings of the “Poe Toaster” were first reported as early as 1950. Jeff Jerome, curator of the city’s Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, said yesterday the visits were likely nevermore. While there is a dispute over what killed Poe, alcoholism was likely a contributing factor, along with a host of other conditions including tuberculosis and a broken heart. After the “Poe Toaster” failed to show in 2010, last year’s vigil attracted imposters, including a man who arrived in a limo as well as a few women.

Teacher In Hot Water Over Potty Break Policy - Do you think there should be some form of policy?

Teacher In Hot Water Over Potty Break Policy
Parents at a Brooklyn elementary school are furious over a fifth-grade teacher’s bathroom policy that prohibits students from using the restroom more than three times a week. The teacher apparently had too many students taking bathroom breaks too often. Parents of kids at P.S. 90 in Coney Island are furious at teacher Stephanie Warner as well as the principal, who reportedly signed off on the policy. Students said the teacher posted the rules on a sign in the classroom. Under Warner’s potty policy, students are given three vouchers a week that entitle them to bathroom visits. Students who do not use all three of the vouchers may hand in leftover ones at the end of the week in exchange for tickets they can redeem for small prizes. A Department of Education spokeswoman saidt the principal has since instructed Warner to drop the policy.

Drunk Drives SUV Into Subway - Do you pay the toll or order a 6 inch?

Drunk Drives SUV Into Subway
A man who drove his sport utility vehicle into a downtown San Francisco subway tunnel yesterday was drunk, authorities said. Muni Metro spokesman Paul Rose said Scott Mitchell, 40, of Sebastopol, entered the tunnel just before 6 a.m. and nearly made it to the Van Ness Station before getting stuck on the tracks. Service was interrupted for more than 2 hours as police worked to remove the SUV from the tracks. Trains were moving below normal speeds by 8:30 a.m., as repairs were needed to restore full service, Rose said. Mitchell was arrested and charged with DUI, failure to obey a stop sign and driving on train tracks.

Man Shoots Change Machine

Man Shoots Change Machine
Authorities in Winter Haven, Florida, are searching for a man who was videotaped firing a handgun at a Laundromat’s change machine. Deputies said the man was partially covering his face with the hood of a gray sweatshirt when he entered the Busy Bubbles Laundromat on January 4th. The man shot the machine several times with a handgun and quickly left when money failed to come out.

Law Enforcement Employees Paid To Get Drunk - Would you get paid to get drunk?

Law Enforcement Employees Paid To Get Drunk
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement revealed it paid 15 employees to get drunk to test the accuracy of the Intoxilyzer 8000 breath test. The FDLE revealed to a panel of judges in Sarasota County in December that it spent $330 on alcohol, mixers and Doritos for 15 employees to drink on company time and blow into the Intoxilyzer 8000s to test their accuracy. However, the judges expressed skepticism about the accuracy of the study because the blood work from the employees was not ready in time for the hearing. The judges are considering the future of the use of the machines in Sarasota and Manatee counties. The $8,000 study was performed after investigators found many flawed machines had stayed in service in the state and breath test results from about 100 cases in the two counties were thrown out as a result of the probe. The judges are expected to issue a ruling in the coming days.

Sega’s Potty Games - Think this will help the sprinkle on the seat?

Sega’s Potty Games
Tokyo video game company Sega said bars in Japan are installing urination-based video game consoles in their bathrooms. Sega said the Toylet consoles are installed on urinals and players can choose from a number of games controlled by the strength and direction of their urine stream. A company spokesman said the consoles, which each cost $1,958, include screens to display the animations for the games, which include a game that measures the strength of a player’s urine screen to make a female character’s skirt blow up to reveal her underwear. Sega said players proud of their scores can download their results onto memory sticks.
 

Centenarian Finally Gets Ears Pierced - At 101 what would you be willing to do?

Centenarian Finally Gets Ears Pierced
A woman in Windsor, Ontario, has ushered in her coming 101st birthday by having her ears pierced, saying she gave in to peer pressure. A week ago, a staff member at the senior center where Viola Arnold lives suggested she celebrate her upcoming birthday Sunday by having her ears pierced for the first time. Arnold said she consulted with her son, who approved, and then fellow residents began pressuring her to go ahead, telling her, “Oh, everybody has their ears pierced,” she said. There were other suggestions as well. “Somebody said to get a tattoo and I said no way,” she said. Arnold made an appointment Wednesday and wheeled herself in for the piercing. Staff at the Caryl Baker Visage Cosmetics Salon performed the procedure, inserted 14-karat, diamond-look earrings, handed Arnold a bouquet of flowers and then told her there was no charge. Her first comment after the piercings was “Ow.”

Elevator Baby - Weirdest place a friend or relative has given birth?

Elevator Baby
Katie Thacker made it to the hospital but not to the delivery room. She had a baby boy while stuck in an elevator at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington. Little Blake entered the world just short of the 14th floor. Nurses were moving the mom-to-be to the birthing center when the elevator got stuck. Thacker doesn’t remember much about the circumstances of her unusual delivery. But she kept asking did she “just really have a baby in an elevator?”
 

Opossum Takes Subway Ride - Ever shared a ride with a wild animal?

Opossum Takes Subway Ride
A suspicious passenger led to the evacuation of a New York City subway car. Startled riders aboard a Manhattan-bound train spotted an opossum curled up underneath a seat near the train’s heating duct around 4:30 a.m. on Friday. The animal apparently boarded the train at Coney Island in Brooklyn, where the platform is above ground. The subway car was evacuated several stops later in Manhattan as officers wearing heavy gloves tried to remove it. When the marsupial bared its teeth at them, animal control experts were called in. Rats and pigeons are often seen in the city’s subways, but a NYC Transit spokesman said it’s the first time anybody could remember a wild animal in the system.

Billions Appear In Teacher’s Account - What is the first thing you buy, when you get an extra $Billion?

Billions Appear In Teacher’s Account
A teacher in India said he was shocked to check his bank account, which he expected to contain $200, and saw a balance of $9.8 billion. Parijat Saha of Balurghat, who makes about $700 a month teaching in West Bengal, said he checked his account online and was baffled to see he had somehow become a billionaire. Saha said he double-checked the account using an ATM and called the State Bank of India when the balance was confirmed. He said bank officials did not say how the error happened, but they told him the funds were marked as “uncleared” and would not be available for withdrawal. Bank officials declined to comment.

Man Rams Bar With Car - Can't we all just get a Long-Neck?

Man Rams Bar With Car
Authorities in Florida arrested a man who crashed his vehicle into a bar and attempted to run over the owner. Deputies responded to reports of shots fired at Stragglers Bar in Sarasota Monday evening and they arrived to find Sean Kilduff, 39, had crashed his car into the building. Deputies said the incident began when Kilduff was involved in a disturbance with the owner of the bar, James Wilbert. Kilduff allegedly went outside during the argument and rammed the building with his car. Wilbert responded by firing a gun at the vehicle and Kilduff allegedly tried to run over Wilbert and another person. Kilduff was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and criminal mischief. No injuries were reported.

Cold Surfer Arrested - Do police have the right to protect you from your own stupidity?

Cold Surfer Arrested
Chicago police arrested and ticketed a man for surfing in the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. Rex Flodstrom, 40, was ticketed Tuesday for surfing more than 50 yards from shore, unlawful presence on a closed beach and jeopardizing the safety of others on the beach. Police also confiscated his surfboard. Police said they received a call about 5 p.m. about a man in the lake near the Oak Street Beach and found Flodstrom on his surfboard. The temperature in Chicago at the time of the incident was in the upper 20s. The Chicago Park District website says “lifeguards are no longer on duty and swimming is discouraged at all beaches.” The 2012 beach season is scheduled to begin May 25th.

Drunk Driver Hogtied - Wold you get involved?

Drunk Driver Hogtied
A suspected drunk driver who narrowly avoided several head-on crashes in New Mexico wound up tackled and hogtied by a citizen before help arrived, police say. Police said witnesses saw Justin Canuto, 22, nearly cause several crashes Sunday night and followed him into a parking lot to confront him. Canuto became angry and tried to run away – that’s when a 26-year-old man sprang into action and took Canuto down. Deputies arrested Canuto and charged him with DUI.

M&M’s Adds New Character - What other candies needs Characters?

M&M’s Adds New Character
Move over Ms. Green. There’s another leading lady coming to the M&M’s clan. M&M’s announced that its spokescandies, including Red, Yellow, Orange, Green and Blue, will be joined by Ms. Brown, who will debut in an ad premiering during Super Bowl XLVI. M&M’s also is giving people a taste of Ms. Brown on January 30th by unveiling the first images of the new character during special events in Los Angeles and New York, as well on Facebook.

Moviegoers Shocked ‘Artist’ Is Silent - Could you sit through 2 hr slient movie?

Moviegoers Shocked ‘Artist’ Is Silent
Britain’s Odeon Liverpool One theater says it issued refunds to a handful of disappointed patrons who said they weren’t aware “The Artist” was a silent movie. The black-and-white film starring Jean Dujardin won the Golden Globe Award for Best Musical or Comedy Sunday, and was nominated for 12 BAFTAs this week. The theater did not say exactly how many moviegoers have requested refunds.

Store Fined $30,000 For Stocking Toy Guns

A New York discount store was ordered to pay a $30,000 fine for stocking toy guns that were deemed to be too realistic. Andrew Tilem, lawyer for the odds-and-ends store called 99¢ Target, said the fine amounts to $5,000 for each of the six toy sheriff sets put up for sale at the store in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood. Tilem said the vender for the toys, JMD All Star of New Jersey, told owner Jamal Ahmed the sets, which included orange plastic-tipped toy guns, were legal for sale and one of the store’s managers failed to inform the owner when a city inspector wrote the store up for stocking the items. City regulations bar the sale of realistic toy weapons. A spokeswoman for the city’s Consumer Affairs department said the fine was appealed, but upheld. “Realistic-looking imitation guns are illegal and dangerous, and just last week, a 15-year-old in Texas was killed while holding one of these guns,” she said.

Stranded Man Burned Money To Stay Warm

The phrase “cash to burn” takes on a whole new meaning in the case of a stranded man who used his dough as kindling to keep warm after he found himself in trouble while in the snow with little more than a pair of snowshoes. While he awaited rescue on Mt. Rainier in Washington, the 66-year-old man spent two nights running in place and setting fire to his money. Searchers found the man on Monday, after he slipped down a slope and became separated from the group he was snowshoeing with. He did have some fire starters with him, so he used those and burned leaves at first. But then it was on to personal items like socks and his cash. Rescuers finally reached him using a Sno-Cat vehicle, and then put on snow shoes to rescue him. 

Dirty ‘Jeopardy’ Answer Goes Viral

A hapless “Jeopardy” contestant made game show blunder history. On Monday night, host Alex Trebek asked the quiz question, “A blow to the back of the neck is the punch named for this animal.” With a straight face, the mild-mannered and sweater-vested contestant, Mike Hatch, answered “What is a donkey?” If you don’t know what that is – Google it at your own risk. Trebek chuckled out loud and the game show went on record making a reference to one of Urban Dictionary’s cruder terms. The question’s correct answer is the boxing term “rabbit punch.”

Snake On A French Train

Officials with the French railway said a 6 1/2-foot snake that escaped on a train was found in a ventilation shaft. The boa constrictor’s owner noticed one of his two snakes was missing from their bag during the Paris to Marseille train ride Saturday. Specially trained firefighters were brought onboard after all the passengers left in Marseille. The firefighters dismantled portions of the train’s walls and discovered the boa hiding in a ventilation shaft. The snake was returned to its owner.

Turkey Memorial

Residents of Woodstock, Georgia, have set up a memorial along a highway where Bob the Turkey, the town’s unofficial mascot, lived and died. Bob was hit by a car and killed Sunday near the intersection where he lived. He just “showed up out of nowhere and people started seeing him all the time” about a year ago, City Clerk Rhonda Pezzello said. “He became an icon,” she added. Bob was buried near the city limit sign and people have flocked to the area to set up a makeshift memorial with flowers. Some residents want to see the area turned into a park. Pezzello said there are no plans for a park, but a permanent plaque in the shape of a turkey will be erected at the burial site. Bob was given a Thanksgiving pardon from Mayor Donnie Henriques last November.

Woman Offers Sex For McNuggets

A California woman was busted after she allegedly offered a McDonald’s employee sexual favors in exchange for chicken McNuggets. Burbank police said Khadijah Baseer of Los Angeles was spotted opening customers’ car doors in the drive-thru lane at the McDonald’s late Wednesday. Officer Joshua Kendrick said one of the customers reported Baseer had asked him to buy her chicken McNuggets in exchange for sexual favors. The man told Kendrick he declined the offer. Baseer was arrested on suspicion of prostitution.

Pregnant Shoplifter Attacks With Hairspray

Police say a pregnant woman in South Carolina tried to shoplift from a beauty supply store, and when she was caught she allegedly whacked the apprehending employee upside the head with a can of pilfered hairspray. The woman is facing assault charges for the alleged attack. Police arrived on the scene and spoke with a man with blood dripping from his head from the wound. Others in the store say the 23-year-old woman was attempting to put several items in her purse when the employee tried to stop her and grabbed the purse. Cops say she then smacked the man with the hairspray can, ran out of the store, dropped the purse and drove off. The woman was later apprehended and told officers she was defending herself. She was taken to the hospital for abdominal pain and later arrested.

Dog Rescues Dog From Owl

Illinois police said a great horned owl was captured after its attempt to grab a small dog was foiled by a larger dog. Patrick Evans said he heard a commotion in his Pingree Grove backyard and he came outside to find his 70-pound boxer, Sadie, fighting to remove the owl from Ramadi, his daughter’s 7-pound shih-tzu and miniature poodle mix. “When they got to the door we were able to separate Sadie from the owl and my wife pinned the owl to the ground with her foot as I ran to get some gloves,” Evans said. Police said the owl was still in the yard when they responded to the home. “The owl stood outside the sliding glass door looking at the smaller dog as if he wasn’t leaving without it,” Sgt. Rich Blair said. The owl was captured and taken to Willowbrook Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center. Workers at the center said the owl had severe injuries, which appeared to be from being hit by a car, and was euthanized. Police said the December 23rd incident was the third owl-dog attack in as many days and the same bird is believed to be behind all of the incidents.

Escaped Bomb-Sniffing Dog Captured

A retired bomb-sniffing dog that worked at the White House was captured yesterday after escaping from handlers and biting two officers at a Detroit Airport. Arco, a 5-year-old Belgian shepherd, had arrived on a flight Monday from Arizona to be united with new owners, but got loose when the owner let him out to relieve himself. Arco bit two Romulus police officers when they attempted to grab him by the collar around 5:30 a.m. near Detroit Metro Airport. One officer required stitches on his hand. Animal control officers and police captured the dog in the afternoon. Arco will be quarantined for 10 days at the Romulus Animal Shelter before being released to his new owners. Arco had been at Rescued Helpers Inc. for the past seven months, but founder Nadine Karsevar told the newspaper he was not an aggressive dog. Arco was retired because he killed a cat that came into the backyard in Virginia where he worked as a bomb-sniffing dog.

Flight Diverted For ‘Unruly’ Passengers

A Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Costa Rica was diverted to Florida Sunday evening after a German couple in first class became unruly and demanded champagne. Delta Flight 414 departed Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 6 p.m. Sunday and landed at Tampa International Airport at 7:34 p.m. After the “unruly” passengers were removed, the plane continued on to Costa Rica. Tampa International Airport officials said Peter and Gabriele Strohmaier of Dusseldorf were seated in first class, demanding food and champagne. They refused to sit down until they were served. Gabriele denied she and her husband behaved inappropriately. She said a Delta crew member “exaggerated enormously and felt terribly insulted” after her husband raised concerns about the food and beverage service. She said her husband had asked for a glass of champagne but was told it was all gone. She said the flight attendant then walked away rather than listen to his concerns. No charges have been filled. The FBI and Transportation Security Administration are investigating.

Bootylicious Fly

A previously unnamed species of horse fly has now been given a moniker in honor of singer Beyoncé – because the insect is “the all-time diva of flies,” researchers said. Bryan Lessard, a researcher from Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia, is responsible for the fly’s official name – Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae. “It was the unique dense golden hairs on the fly’s abdomen that led me to name this fly in honor of the performer Beyoncé as well as giving me the chance to demonstrate the fun side of taxonomy – the naming of species,” Lessard said. He added that Beyoncé would be “in the nature history books forever” and that the fly now bearing her name is “pretty bootylicious” with its golden backside. Other celebrities that have insects named after them include Jerry Garcia’s wood roach, Greta Garbo and Harrison Ford, who has two – a spider and ant.

Underwear Driving Man Gets DUI

A man wearing only his underwear and socks was charged with drunk driving after his vehicle hit a police car over the weekend. Chicago police were notified about a man possibly driving drunk in an alley on the city’s Northwest Side. The man thought the alley was a street, police said. Arsenio Garcia, 24, drove the wrong way down a one-way street and crashed into a cop cruiser that was answering the call. After Saturday’s crash, Garcia opened the door and fell out of the car, wearing only his underpants and socks. He was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for minor scrapes to his face and then charged with several infractions including misdemeanor DUI, using an alley as a through street, driving the wrong way on a one-way street, no license, no insurance, failure to reduce speed and damage to public property. The officer in the squad car suffered minor injuries and was treated and released from a hospital.

Shamed Son

An Indiana woman who punished her law-breaking son by having him wear an embarrassing sign in public said she hopes he’ll get his life together and get on the right track. Dynesha Lax of Fort Wayne said she decided to have her 14-year-old son stand along Broadway with a sign that read “I lie, I steal, I sell drugs, I don’t follow the law,” for 2 hours after a court gave him only a probation sentence with community service for what she described as multiple crimes. Lax said she has received interview offers from media outlets, including CNN, but turned them down because she is only looking for ways to help her son. She said she’s considering an offer from “The Dr. Drew Show” because producers said they were working on a program to work with the teenager. Lax said she has another son who is an honor student with a 3.9 grade-point average.

Hotels End Feral Cat Program

Cat lovers are upset over a decision by the Loews hotels at Universal Orlando in Florida to end its program of caring for feral cats. The Loews Portofino Bay Hotel and Loews Royal Pacific Resort said they’re ending the program, which involved trapping feral cats, having them spayed or neutered and then releasing them back into their colonies, due to liability reasons. Christine Michaels, head of the Riverfront Cats advocacy group in South Florida, called on cat lovers to call and e-mail the hotels to protest the end of the policy and draw attention to the plight of the felines on social media sites.

$44 Million Pneumonia

An unemployed New York doorman was cured of pneumonia, but the $44 million hospital bill almost gave him a heart attack. Alexis Rodriguez was one of several hundred patients to receive wildly inflated bill because of a computer error. The bill from Bronx-Lebanon Hospital should have been for no more than $300, but instead was listed as $44,776,587. The billing firm, PHY Services, said it wasn’t too hard to find the problem – a subcontractor that prints the bills put the invoice number into the “amount due” space.

Pandas Sent FedEx To France

FedEx says it absolutely positively delivered a pair of Chinese pandas to France Sunday on time and without any problems. A chartered jet carried the panda pair from China to Paris where they will be on display for excited crowds of Frenchmen for the first time in more than 10 years. “It was an absolute privilege and honor to fly Huan Huan and Yuan Zi, and to be part of this significant moment to bring the pandas to their new home in France,” FedEx pilot Paul Cassel said. “Although every flight is unique, this flight has been particularly special – carrying such rare animals made the journey very exciting for all of us.” Cassel actually has experience in flying rare animals, the company said. His past passengers have included penguins and white rhinos. Huan Huan and Yuan Zi will begin their 10-year stay at the ZooParc de Beauval outside Paris in quarantine. They make their public debut February 11th.

Man Arrested For Playing Too Much Cowbell

Demonstrators calling for the recall of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker learned there really is such a thing as too much cowbell. Oshkosh police arrested a 26-year-old Appleton man on Thursday after he kept playing a cowbell and shaking it in an officer’s face when he and other protesters were told to be quiet. When the officer tried to take the cowbell, the man pushed the officer. A 25-year-old woman then hit the officer in the back with her picket sign while the man was being handcuffed. Both were taken to Jail. Police will recommend that the man be charged with disorderly conduct and

Save The Bunnies

Portland police say more than a dozen rabbits reported stolen the night before a rabbit-cooking class have been returned by bunny advocates who had been caring for them. Members of the volunteer group Rabbit Advocates say they’re trying to buy the bunnies so they can live as pets. Police say 18 rabbits belonging to farmer Levi Cole disappeared on January 7th. Cole says the theft occurred the night before he taught a class on raising, slaughtering and cooking rabbits. Cole is an instructor for the Portland Meat Collective. He believes the theft was politically motivated. Police have no suspects. Rabbit Advocates board member Erin Ford says the bunnies were dumped anonymously at the home of a volunteer. Police said 17 rabbits were picked up Friday from the advocates’ lawyer’s office. Police are still looking for one small, gray rabbit named Roger. Ford says she believes he’s still in foster care.

Hamster Hoarder

A Massachusetts man has turned over 94 hamsters to a local animal shelter, telling officials he was running out of room in his apartment. The director of the shelter says the rodents were well cared for and will make nice pets. Shelter director Mike Keiley said the hamsters’ owner stopped by earlier this month and said he had a lot of hamsters to surrender. A Lawrence animal control officer says the man was “overwhelmed” when officials came to get the hamsters Friday, and initially wanted to keep a few. But she says he changed his mind. Officials say the man started keeping the hamsters about five years ago.

2012 Year Of The 13s

Did you survive Friday the 13th? Well, cross your fingers because it isn’t over yet. A University of Delaware professor said this year is unique for having three Friday the 13ths, each spaced exactly 13 weeks apart. Tom Fernsler, a math professor nicknamed Dr. 13, said most years have two Friday the 13ths, but 2011 had only one and 2012 will feature three, the first one last Friday, the next April 13th and the final one on July 13th. Fernsler said 2012 is the first year since 2009 to have three Friday the 13ths and it’s the first time since 1984 to have three occurrences spaced 13 weeks apart.

Man Gets Lost Class Ring Back 45 Years Later

A Utah man who lost his class ring six months after he bought it is getting the keepsake back 45 years later, thanks to Facebook. Brent Aguirre said his mother was upset when the 1966 Bonneville High School graduate lost the ring. He assumed the ring was at the bottom of Pineview Reservoir, not far from the Great Salt Lake, and wrote it off when he left to fight in Vietnam. The military service turned into an Air Force career that led him through nine different moves across the world and finally back to his hometown of Ogden. Last fall Aguirre received a Facebook message from a couple in a nearby town, saying they wanted to get in touch with him. He brushed it off, but they contacted him again, telling him they’d found a ring with his name inscribed in cursive script. The husband said he can’t remember where he originally found it, and the wife said the keepsake turned up when she was cleaning out a desk drawer. Aguirre met up with the couple just after Christmas. More than four decades older, the ring no longer fits on his ring finger, but Aguirre said he’s happy to have it on his pinky. He is just disappointed that his mom was not around to see that he’d finally found it.

Firefighters Rescue Toddler From Air Duct

Connecticut firefighters said a 2-year-old boy was rescued uninjured after he fell 8 to 10 feet into an air duct. New Haven Fire Chief Michael Grant said a 911 caller around 2:30 p.m. Thursday reported a 2-year-old boy had crawled into a duct and fell from the first floor to the basement. The boy was freed by firefighters who cut through the duct. The boy appeared to be uninjured but was taken to a hospital as a precaution, Grant said.

Man Claims Cabbie Kidnapping

Authorities in Florida arrested a man who allegedly called 911 seven times and claimed he was being kidnapped by Checker Cab. Deputies said Paul Coombs, 38, called 911 seven times in less than hour January 8th and claimed he was being kidnapped when the driver took him back to the Checker Cab depot in Fort Pierce. The driver said he tried to take Coombs home, but the man was unable to give a specific address, smelled strongly of booze and rambled incoherently during the ride. Coombs was told to stop calling 911, but he allegedly said he had a checkbook and didn’t care about going to jail. He was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of misusing the 911 system.

Pig In The Doghouse

A dog pound in northwest Ohio has said goodbye to a guest more appropriate for a barnyard. The Paulding County dog warden took in a pot-bellied pig for a few days this week after a woman who’d been sitting for the animal got stuck with him when the owners wouldn’t take him back. Dog Warden Georgia Dyson normally doesn’t accept anything other than dogs. But she felt bad for the pig-sitter, who she described as a senior citizen unable to care for the animal. Dyson says she fed pig feed to the 14-week-old pig, named Bacon Bits and about the size of a beagle. He got french fries as a treat. A rescue farm came to fetch Bacon Bits on Wednesday.

Curious Pig Blamed For Starting Barn Blaze

A curious pig is being blamed for starting a fire in a barn at an animal rescue sanctuary in New York’s Finger Lakes region. Officials in the Schuyler County town of Orange say four people were treated for injuries but no animals were hurt after the fire broke out around 9:40 a.m. Wednesday at Farm Sanctuary. A spokeswoman for the organization says the fire started in a barn sheltering pigs, calves and goats when one of the pigs apparently knocked off the top of a water heater, causing nearby straw to ignite. Sanctuary workers evacuated the animals and moved hay bales away from the flames. Four workers were treated for smoke inhalation and released. Officials said pigs are inquisitive creatures and this one apparently got curious about the heater.

Theft Suspect Threatens To Eat Police, Dogs

Police say a man in Indiana accused of stealing a car threatened to hunt down and eat his arresting officers, their families and police dogs. Paul M. Brock, 39, was charged Wednesday with auto theft, resisting law enforcement, intimidation and operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Police in Lafayette used dogs to subdue Brock during his arrest on Friday. Brock later told officers that he would hunt them down and eat them, their families and their dogs. He had a blood-alcohol content more than three times the legal limit.

Ringtone Halts New York Philharmonic Mid-Song

A performance of the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center was halted for the first time ever, a record broken due to a ringing cell phone. During the final movements of Gustav Mahler’s Ninth Symphony Tuesday night, the music was brought to a dramatic halt by Maestro Alan Gilbert when a cell phone kept ringing with the distinctive sound of iPhone’s “Marimba” ringtone. The ringing phone in the first row could be heard throughout the Center’s Avery Fisher Hall each time the symphony came to a quiet moment in the performance. Maestro Gilbert turned his head to signal to the offending audience member that that was enough. Gilbert finally turned to the audience and asked that the culprit, said to be a male and a regular Philharmonic attendee, quiet his phone. Gilbert finally stopped the orchestra mid-song until it happened, and resumed the concert’s grand finale only after he received confirmation that it would not happen again. Gilbert was greeted with thunderous applause by the rest of the audience, which had earlier booed the man to silence the phone.

Swan Attack

Police in Florida arrested a man accused of grabbing a swan by the neck at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando. John Wynne was arrested Tuesday on charges of animal cruelty and grand theft and jailed in lieu of $1,000 bond. Investigators said bicycle officers spotted Wynne choking the Australian black swan, named Ruffles, and carrying it several feet by its neck. He dropped the bird when he saw the officers. Sheila Bolin, CEO of The Regal Swan Foundation, said Ruffles appeared to be eating but refused to let any humans come near him.

The Maserati SUV

Ready for a Maserati SUV? The concept vehicle is on display at the Detroit auto show and company officials say it will go into production soon. It will be built in the U.S., but will pack Italian power and style. The engine will be made by Ferrari. The concept is called the Kubang, but company officials say the Maserati SUV will get a new name before it goes into showrooms. No word yet on price, but the Average Joe probably can’t afford it.

Crack Attack

Police in Florida said a man who led officers on a chase told them he fled so he could smoke his crack before going to jail. Gainesville police officers attempted to pull over a blue pickup truck Saturday because it had a headlight out, but the driver failed to stop and ran a red light while fleeing. An Alachua County Sheriff’s Office deputy joined the chase and the truck eventually stopped at a Kangaroo gas station in Micanopy. The driver, Kenneth Stine, 53, told officers he stopped fleeing because he was out of gas. He said he had refused to pull over because he had just purchased some crack and wanted to smoke it in his vehicle before going to jail. Stine was arrested and charged with fleeing and attempting to elude, possession of drug paraphernalia and violating his felony drug probation from a 2010 case.

Loveland Gearing Up For Love Day

Officials in Loveland, Colorado, are getting ready for their big day. Valentine’s Day cards will soon be pouring into the city, to be postmarked and remailed. The cards will be printed with an image of a cupid wearing a cowboy hat, who’s blowing hearts toward a globe. Officials say the deadline for sending domestic cards is February 9th. Cards being sent overseas need to arrive in Loveland by the 4th.

Un-Getaway Car

Police in Lafayette, Louisiana, say Nathan Sonnier didn’t get very far after sticking up a convenience store. Authorities say he locked the keys in the car. Sonnier was busted while waiting for his mom to bring a spare key. Police say they also found the gun used in the robbery and everything taken from the store.

Cannabis Cooking

Italy’s Flavor University, part of the National Food Education and Culture Center, said cannabis is an “amazing ingredient” for cooking. The school said the cannabis recommended for cooking is cannabis sativa, which contains only trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Glenda Giampaoli, director of the Museum of Hemp Sant’Anatolia di Narco, which helped the university come up with its recipes, said the THC content of the cooking cannabis, which is also known as industrial hemp, is “virtually zero.” The school said hemp has a taste similar to hazelnut and is most commonly used in the form of flour, but the leaves, seeds and oil can also be used to “add a twist” to recipes.

Tebow Jersey Stolen

Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow is hot and so is his jersey. The owner of a Denver sports memorabilia shop says some crooks smashed his store window and stole a signed Tebow jersey. Fast Frame owner Jarrod Perrott said the crooks also grabbed a jersey autographed by Broncos legend John Elway. The jerseys were mounted in frames. He puts the combined value of the stolen jerseys at $2,300.

Crossword Hip-Hop Terms Debated

A New York Times crossword reader sparked a debate over whether “wack” and “illin” are synonyms. Julieanne Smolinski, a New York-based writer for GQ and xoJane.com, said Saturday’s puzzle was in error when it provided “wack” as a clue for the answer “illin.” “These are not the same things, at all!” Smolinski wrote in an e-mail to the Times. Crossword editor Will Shortz replied with dictionary citations defining “illin” as “stupid, insane” and “wack” as “worthless, stupid.” “So it seems to me the clue is fine,” he wrote. “I appreciate your writing. Keep up the good solving.” The meanings of the words are “kind of hard to articulate if you’re not in the culture,” said Marvet Britto, head of The Britto Agency, which has worked with many hip-hop artists. “No one would ever guess that the synonym for wack would be illin,” she said. “You have to understand the context of how it’s used. If you say ‘ill,’ then it means cool and good, hot. If you say ‘illin,’ then it’s the opposite.”

Courthouse Pot

Wearing a red coat will get you noticed. So will selling weed in front of the courthouse. Authorities say Andrew Allen Kramer was doing both. Deputies say the 22-year-old Kramer was asking people in front of the Grant County courthouse if they wanted to buy some weed. Deputies said they could also smell the pot. Kramer was searched and authorities found 20 grams of packaged marijuana in his pockets. He was busted and cited for possession.

Tattoo Leads To Permanent Erection

A man who got a tattoo on his penis is now left with a permanent semi-erection. The 21-year-old Iranian man got a tattoo in Persian script reading “borow be salaamat” (good luck on your journeys), and the first initial of his girlfriend’s last name (“M”). An article in Sexual Medicine explains that a tattoo artist crafted the tattoo using a handheld needle which resulted in “bleeding from deep penile tissue for several days complicating the tattooing.” The man had shunt surgery – which drains excess fluid from inflamed areas of the body – performed to correct the problem, but the procedure was unsuccessful. Since the man is capable of achieving a relatively normal erection and he’s not in pain, he has decided not to pursue any more corrective measures.

Man Indicted After Posting Of Daughter Bound With Tape Over Mouth

A Chicago man accused of posting a photo on Facebook of his young daughter bound to a chair with tape over her mouth has been indicted on several felony charges. Prosecutors say a grand jury indicted 21-year-old Andre Curry on felony counts of aggravated domestic battery, aggravated battery and unlawful restraint. Curry made headlines last month after prosecutors say he posted a photo of his bound 22-month old daughter on Facebook with the caption, “This is wut happens wen my baby hits me back.”

Celebrity Chef Sorry For Stealing Food

A British television chef Antony Worrall Thompson has publicly apologized for stealing cheese and wine from a Tesco store in Henley-on-Thames, England. The 60-year-old star of “Ready, Steady, Cook” was arrested last Friday and issued a ticket after he was captured on video not paying for items at a self-service checkout counter in the shop on five separate occasions between December 22th and January 6th. The restaurant owner is a married father of two, who has appeared on BBC’s “Food and Drink” and ITV’s “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!” He is also reportedly the godson of late actor Richard Burton.”I am so sorry for all my recent stupid and irresponsible actions; I am, of course, devastated for my family and friends, whom I’ve let down and will seek the treatment that is clearly needed,” Thompson said in a statement posted on his website.

Burglar Steals Chicken Nuggets

Police in Lincoln, Kansas, say a homeless man who broke into his ex-girlfriend’s house late Monday afternoon didn’t seek out cash, jewelry or electronics. He went for the chicken nuggets and ground beef in the freezer. The burglary was reported at about 5 p.m. Monday. A 32-year-old woman told police the 23-year-old man kicked in her front door, stole the chicken and hamburger and ran out the back door. He was last seen running south from the residence.

School Employee Fakes Daughter’s Death For More Vacation Time

A New York City school employee is accused of forging a daughter’s death certificate to get extra vacation time in Costa Rica. Joan Barnett, 58, a parent coordinator at the High School of Hospitality and Management, submitted an altered death certificate to get approved leave time in March and April 2010, school officials said. She lost her job that June after the forgery came to light. School officials say someone who said she was Barnett’s daughter called the school on March 19, 2010, and said her sister in Costa Rica was very sick. Later that day, another supposed daughter called and said her sister had suffered a heart attack and died. She said relatives were gathering in Costa Rica. Barnett faxed the school a death certificate April 8th. School officials were suspicious because it had different, misaligned fonts. A Costa Rican government official confirmed the document was a fake, noting that the death certificate had been issued in 2005. In addition to losing her job, Barnett pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor forgery charge last fall and was sentenced to 10 days’ community service. It isn’t known whether the daughter who purportedly died ever existed.

Police Arrest Convicted Felon With Gun In Her Bra

A convicted felon has been arrested by police in Mesa, Arizona, after telling officers that she was hiding a handgun in her bra. Angela Lynn Milhoan is not allowed to possess a firearm. But police say the 20-year-old admitted to concealing a .22-caliber semi-automatic handgun in her undergarments when a car she was riding in was stopped by officers early yesterday. Police had stopped the car while looking for a suspect on a weapons violation warrant. They seized the gun and arrested Milhoan on charges of being a prohibited possessor of a firearm and concealing a deadly weapon while under 21 years of age.

Woman Assaults Victim With Hammer Over ‘Judge Judy’

A Jupiter, Florida, man said a woman struck him on the head with a hammer because she was “upset with Judge Judy.” The 65-year-old victim said he was watching “Judge Judy” on television Sunday morning when Janet Knowles, 62, entered the room and got “upset with Judge Judy.” The victim said Knowles then struck him in the head with a hammer, resulting in a large cut to his head and a wound to his left forearm. The man was treated at the scene by paramedics. Knowles told police she became “mad” at the victim for watching “Judge Judy” and attacked him with a hammer. Police did not say what the relationship between Knowles and the victim is. Knowles was charged with aggravated battery using a deadly weapon.

TSA Defends Cupcake Confiscation

The federal Transportation Security Administration is defending its decision to confiscate a frosted cupcake from a Massachusetts woman flying from Las Vegas. The TSA said in a blog comment the cupcake was packed in a jar filled with icing, which is considered a gel under a policy designed to secure travelers from terrorists seeking to evade detection by using explosives made of plastics, liquids or gels. Rebecca Hains was barred from taking her cupcake onto a plane last month when a TSA agent said icing in the jar exceeded amounts of gels allowed in carry-on luggage. Hains has called that “terrible logic.” The TSA says travelers can take cakes, pies and cupcakes through security checkpoints but they might get additional screening.

Toddler Dimes Out Dad

Police in St. Petersburg, Florida, said a 2-year-old boy clued officers in to his wanted father’s hiding spot in the attic. Officers went to the home of Valdet Gjeloshi, who was wanted for violating his probation, Saturday afternoon. The mother of his child, Megan Merschen, told them Gjeloshi was not home. However, Merschen admitted Gjeloshi was in the home when the 2-year-old child blurted out that his father was in the attic. Gjeloshi was arrested and charged with violation of probation and resisting an officer without violence. Merschen was charged with obstruction.