Strange-but-true news
Washington man, 84, fights off would-be carjackers with kick to the groin
Apr 24, 2009 09:00 PM
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — An 84-year-old man has a black eye, but he still has his car, after fighting off two would-be carjackers. Ted Mazetier said he stopped Wednesday night to help two men with a disabled car when one punched him in the face and demanded his keys. Mazetier said he kicked the man in the groin and the other in the belly. The two men fled as a passer-by stopped to help.
Horseplay gone wrong: Man pretending to fall off Minnesota River bridge actually falls
Apr 24, 2009 09:00 PM
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Police said a 23-year-old man is in stable condition after he pretended that he was falling off a bridge over the Minnesota River, then actually fell off the bridge. Police got a call just before 5 a.m. Sunday from a 21-year-old man who said his friend fell off the Highway 77 bridge and into a marshy area about 30 feet below.
Wis. teen allegedly steals from cars to get money to pay lawyer to defend him on other charges
Apr 24, 2009 09:00 PM
BELOIT, Wis. (AP) — A teen allegedly broke into cars to raise money to pay a lawyer to defend him on other charges. A criminal complaint said a resident caught the teen inside his Chevrolet Camaro in his garage about 4:30 a.m. April 16 and tackled him and held him for police.
Oregon theater rolls out red carpet to celebrate, but thief rolls it back up and fades to black
Apr 24, 2009 09:00 PM
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Salem Cinema rolled out a rented red carpet to celebrate its new location. At some point during the night a thief rolled it back up — and made off with it. Cinema owner Loretta Miles put out the carpet for the opening of a 10-day festival on April 17. It was there when the last employee left at 9:45 p.m. But by 12:15 a.m. it was gone. Miles said a security video shows a man yanking it up.
Fla. officials capture a one-eyed, 3-legged alligator captured on a beach
Apr 23, 2009 09:05 PM
SEACREST BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It sounds more like something out of a freak show: a one-eyed, 3-legged alligator. The gator was captured Thursday morning in Seacrest Beach by Walton County officials. The animal was less than five feet long and had somehow found its way to the beach.
No mice allowed: Great horned owl hatches inside Ark. Home Depot, takes up residence
Apr 23, 2009 09:05 PM
HARRISON, Ark. (AP) — A Home Depot in northern Arkansas has someone new looking out for mice at the warehouse store. A great horned owl now lives in the Harrison store's garden center, looking down on surprised customers shopping for flowers and paving stones. Employees say the bird's mother flew inside of the enclosed garden center during a January ice storm and laid eggs atop a pallet of merchandise.
Ark. man digging in garden unearths a Civil War-era cannonball that could be still explosive
Apr 23, 2009 09:05 PM
FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) — Officials say a Fort Smith man digging in his garden unearthed a Civil War-era cannonball that's possibly still explosive. The unidentified man was tending to his garden Tuesday at his home when he found the rusted, 4-inch-diameter iron ball.
Public works crew finally retrieve the bloated carcass of a bull near Maine river
Apr 23, 2009 09:05 PM
RUMFORD, Maine (AP) — A public works crew retrieved the bloated carcass of a bull that had floated down the Androscoggin River and over a waterfall before landing on some boulders weeks ago. Crewman Dan Peare told the Sun Journal of Lewiston that he convinced his bosses that he and fellow crewmen could and should remove the animal before warm weather arrived for the weekend.
Not so fast-food! Swiss city of Basel wants buses, trams even cleaner, sets food fines
Apr 23, 2009 02:27 PM
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Cleanliness, order and more ways to take your money: authorities in the Swiss city of Basel may have found a perfect recipe.
Metal underwire in Detroit woman's bra deflects bullet from men breaking into neighbor's home
Apr 22, 2009 09:27 PM
DETROIT (AP) — The metal underwire in a Detroit woman's bra was credited with deflecting a bullet fired at her during a break-in at a neighbor's home. Detroit police Officer Leon Rahmaan said the 57-year-old woman apparently looked out her window Tuesday when one of three men fired the shot.
Police: Pregnant woman tries to rob NC bank, but leaves after getting call on cell phone
Apr 22, 2009 09:27 PM
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Police are looking for a pregnant woman they say tried to rob a North Carolina bank at gunpoint but left empty-handed after answering her cell phone. Fayetteville police spokeswoman Teresa Chance said Wednesday the woman had a handgun and demanded money when she entered a Carter Bank & Trust branch at 9:43 a.m. Tuesday.
Minnesota surgeon reportedly performs appendectomy on same patient twice
Apr 22, 2009 09:27 PM
SHAKOPEE, Minn. (AP) — A state investigative report said a surgeon performed an appendectomy on the same patient twice after he mistakenly removed a piece of fatty tissue instead the first time. The Star Tribune reported that the surgeon realized his mistake two days after the first operation after a hospital pathologist reported what was removed was "not an appendix."
Pa. postal worker accused of stealing $25 from greeting card and 'breakup book'
Apr 22, 2009 09:27 PM
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Pittsburgh postal worker faces up to 10 years in prison if she's convicted of stealing two items of dubious value from the mail: $25, and a book on a woman's perspective of breaking up with men.
State troopers charge NY driver after he's clocked going 134 mph on upstate road
Apr 22, 2009 09:27 PM
PAWLING, N.Y. (AP) — State police said a 23-year-old man clocked driving at more than 130 mph on an upstate New York road is facing multiple traffic charges. Police said a trooper spotted Michael DiBernardino's 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer doing 134 mph in a 55-mph zone Tuesday afternoon in the Dutchess County town of Pawling, near the Connecticut border 65 miles north of New York City.
Man watching TV with open window causes police to respond to 'shots, screams'
Apr 22, 2009 09:27 PM
BARTLETT, Tenn. (AP) — There were screams, then two gunshots, then a call to police from a quiet cove in the Memphis suburban city of Bartlett. A half-dozen police cars responded to the dispatch Tuesday morning while dispatchers checked to see if there had been previous police responses to the home.
Guest at Fla. hotel accused of trying to attack deputies with medieval battle ax, knife, sword
Apr 22, 2009 09:27 PM
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Authorities said a motel guest tried to scare off deputies with a medieval battle ax, a knife and a long sword. The Bay County Sheriff's Office reported that deputies responded to the Sting Ray Motel Tuesday morning after management called 911 to complain that a guest was acting strange.
Florida woman accused of using 'animal tissue' to fake a miscarriage in apartment
Apr 22, 2009 09:27 PM
OAKLAND PARK, Fla. (AP) — Deputies said a woman in South Florida has faked a miscarriage. The Broward county Sheriff's Office responded an emergency call of a possible miscarriage just before 8 a.m. Tuesday at an Oakland Park apartment. Upon arrival, they learned a woman staged the incident using what authorities described only as "animal tissue."
Correction: Four Corners marker story
Apr 22, 2009 04:58 PM
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — In an April 20 story about the location of the Four Corners marker, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the monument is 2.5 miles west of where it should be. Instead, according to Dave Doyle of the National Geodetic Survey, the monument marking the intersection of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah is about 1,807 feet east of where it should have been placed in 1875. Doyle says the monument's location has been legally adopted by all the states as the official corner.
Idaho judge deals with unruly defendant by ordering bailiffs to tape his mouth shut
Apr 21, 2009 09:02 PM
POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — An eastern Idaho judge who lost patience with the disruptive behavior of a defendant ordered court officials to tape the man's mouth shut with duct tape during a court hearing. The unusual move was ordered by 6th District Judge Peter D. McDermott during a probation violation hearing for Nicklas Frasure, 23.
Police say a sword-waving ninja attempted to rob convenience store, cleaners
Apr 21, 2009 09:01 PM
WEYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — Police say a man dressed liked a ninja used a sword in an attempt to rob a Weymouth dry cleaner. According to police, a convenience store clerk called police Monday after she noticed a man walking into the store wearing a ski mask and carrying a sword in a sheath on his belt. When the man noticed her, he pulled his mask off and asked if she was calling about him, police said.
Connecticut police arrest woman twice in 3 hours on drunken driving charges
Apr 21, 2009 09:01 PM
FARMINGTON, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut police booked a 29-year-old woman for drunken driving, and then charged her with the same crime less than three hours later when they spotted her behind the wheel again.
Maine town seeks way to get rid of dead cow stuck below river waterfall
Apr 21, 2009 09:01 PM
RUMFORD, Maine (AP) — Rumford officials are trying to figure out what do with the bloated carcass of a cow that floated down the Androscoggin River and over a waterfall before landing on some rocks, where it has remained for nearly three weeks.
Officer finds NH woman passed out at a traffic light, with one foot still on brake
Apr 21, 2009 09:01 PM
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — The car, stopped at a traffic light in Manchester, N.H., didn't move when the light turned green. So a police officer checked it out and found the driver asleep at the wheel, with one foot still on the brake. The 22-year-old driver eventually woke up and was arrested Monday on a charge of aggravated driving while intoxicated, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported.
Harmful to health: Chewing tobacco spit gives up DNA, leads to charges in Wis. safe theft
Apr 21, 2009 09:01 PM
LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — A tobacco chewing habit led to charges against two men accused of stealing a safe that was bolted to the floor of a town of Campbell tavern. A criminal complaint said a DNA profile was developed from a sample taken from the trail of chewing tobacco spit leading away from the Sher-Bear Tavern after the theft Feb. 5.
Fla. officials say 200-pound wild hog attacks woman in the leg in her back yard
Apr 21, 2009 09:01 PM
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Officials said a wild hog attacked a woman in the back yard of her home. St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue reported that a 26-year-old woman was told there was a pig in her back yard Monday afternoon. When she went outside to investigate, the 200-pound animal charged her, cutting the back of her left leg.
