Best selling American car is driven by toddlers

America's best selling American car is the Cozy Coupe. The red and yellow car has been popular with American toddlers for thirty years.

It has sold more than 10 million units in its 30-year history, to become one of the most easily recognized and popular cars of all time, easily landing in the list of top-20 nameplates in history ahead of perennial favourites such as the BMW 3 Series.

It is the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe, which began production in Macedonia, Ohio, in 1979, later moving to Hudson, Ohio, in 1985 and is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2009 with a special edition model.

And now it has landed a parking spot at Cleveland's Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum, a prestigious institution that is one of the Top-10 automobile museums in the U. S., according to Car Collector Magazine. The Crawford Museum will house one of the first Cozy Coupes to come off the production line in 1979 as well a 30th Anniversary edition model.

Those cars are sturdy too. I've never seen one stuck on the side of the road.

Toddler falls three stories, only suffers minor injuries

A Nebraska toddler fell three stories off of an apartment balcony and has only minor injuries to his face.

Jacob Bettin, a police spokesman, said 1-year-old Dennis Nimely was playing on the third-floor balcony of an apartment in Omaha's Wentworth Townhomes when he fell through a small opening, KETV, Omaha, reported Wednesday.

The toddler was taken to Nebraska Medical Center for treatment of his injury. Police said no arrests were made.

How lucky was he? Hopefully this reminds everyone that they need to childproof their balconies.

Little League Coach uses players to rob store

A little league coach in Washington took several of his players with him when he broke into a vacant store and stole bolts and lights.

Investigators allege that George Spady Jr. was with his son, a nephew and another player from his baseball team when he broke into a vacant shop and took overhead lights and bolts. The boys were encouraged to assist with the break-in, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Edirin Okoloko wrote in court documents.

Spady, 31, was charged Monday with second-degree burglary, a felony.

Snohomish County sheriff's deputies were called to one of the players' homes after the boy told his stepfather that his coach had taken him along to break into a shop in Arlington, Okoloko wrote.

The stepfather was angry that an adult would use the boys to commit a crime, and, even worse, "that the adult was his son's baseball coach," Okoloko wrote.

The boy told investigators that Spady's son crawled through a vent on the back side of the shop and unlocked the door for his father. Spady, his son and Spady's nephew then went inside and came out with light fixtures and some other items, according to court documents.

The boy told investigators that Spady yelled at him to go inside and grab more from the shop, and told him to hurry up because he saw a truck drive by, Okoloko wrote.

The boy told police he didn't take anything from the shop.

Spady told police he'd driven onto the property to go "four-wheeling" with the boys, Okoloko wrote. He told the sheriff's deputy he didn't see the numerous "No Trespassing" signs posted on the shop, near the driveway and in other locations on the property.

Investigators reported that Spady told them the front door to the shop was unlocked and he couldn't recall if anyone went through a vent to get inside, Okoloko wrote.

Spady was apologetic, the deputy reported.

He admitted taking shop lights and bolts but didn't take anything else; he handed over the lights to the sheriff's deputy. He said he didn't have the bolts with him, according to court documents.

The boys are not expected to be charged with a crime.

In the future the little league should choose coaches that are good role models for it's players.

SuperBaby!!!

A Michigan boy has a medical condition that gives him super strength.

At 5 months old, Liam Hoekstra of Grand Rapids, Mich., started doing an expert gymnast move called the iron cross. By 8 months old, Liam could do a pull-up and by 9 months, he could climb up and down stairs.

"I would hold him up by his hands and he would lift himself into an iron cross. That's when we were like, 'whoa, this is weird,'" Liam's mother, Dana Hoekstra told The Associated Press.

Soon, the family thought to take him to specialists, who diagnosed Liam with a rare condition loosely called myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy, according to reporting by the AP.

The condition is so rare, only a few similar cases have been documented in medical literature. Hoekstra declined to do more interviews with ABCNews.com, saying she hoped to get her son out of the limelight for a while.

Wow, it's like a real life comic book except without the nuclear radiation causing the issue. I wonder what costume he'll choose.

Boy grows mullet to help cancer victims

A Florida boy has been growing a huge mullet so he can donate his hair to cancer.

Dustin grew his hair into a mullet-style, shorter in the front and longer in the back, just like his dad, Barry Amara. His father also plans to donate his hair once it's longer.

"He's had some teasing from the other kids because he had his hair long," Barry Amara, of Sunrise, said. "They'll tease anyone who looks different. But once he explained why, they really admired him."

Before growing it out, Dustin had his hair in a short buzz cut.

"We always have to remind him to brush his hair," his mother, Tracy Amara, said. "He thinks if he just fixes up the front, no one will notice, but it doesn't work like that."

As the hairstylist tied Dustin's hair into a ponytail and pulled out the scissors, Dustin grimaced. Even though the style was just for charity, he said it would be strange to feel air on the back of his neck again.

"It's OK, I'm going to grow it back," Dustin said. "Then I'll donate it again."

The mullet: business in the front and a party in the back.

Man pregnant with twins

A man in Spain is pregnant with twins!

"I am six-and-a-half weeks pregnant," Ruben Noe Coronado Jimenez, initially named Estefania, told the popular magazine Pronto, saying he took treatment to restart his menstrual cycle.

In photos posted on his blog, where he also wrote about the pregnancy, Coronado has a shaved head and a beard.

He said he had retained his female status to be able to undergo fertility treatment, but would start the administrative process this month to officially change his gender to male in accordance with newly passed legislation.

As a result, Coronado said, he would give birth as a man.

A law that went into effect last year allows Spaniards suffering from "a sexual identity problem" and undergoing hormonal or endocrinal treatment to change their sexual status without undergoing surgery or a sex change.

The insemination took place at a private clinic, Coronado told the magazine, adding that if all went well he would give birth by Caesarean section in September.

Well, different strokes for different folks I guess. I wonder if he's going to breastfeed?

Boy makes eleven thousand dollars on happy meal toys

A British boy recently made a killing when he sold his happy meal collection.

Luke Underwood, 11, had his 5,000-piece collection of posters, Happy Meal boxes, toys, and promotional displays auctioned Wednesday night, selling for 8,130 pounds ($11,500), which includes a 15 percent buyer's premium.

Luke, who is from South Clifton, Nottinghamshire, 140 miles (220 kilometers) north of London, said Thursday it was tough to put the collection under the hammer.

"It was sad to see it go," he said on a telephone interview on his way home from school. "We just needed the room. It was on the landing. It was everywhere."

Unique Auctions' owner Terry Woodcock said he had no idea the memorabilia would sell.

"I didn't think people would be interested in McDonald's toys. I've never been so wrong about an auction in 20 years," he said.

Woodcock said that people from around the world — including the U.S., Germany and Australia — bought pieces of the collection. One man paid 300 pounds ($420) for a 101 Dalmatians toy to finish his own collection.

Wow, that's a lot of money for badly made plastic toys.

Man designs real Barbie dream house

A California designer has decorated a house to resemble Barbies house.

Adler, who was commissioned by toy maker Mattel Inc. to decorate the house for Monday's party, said outfitting the sleek mansion (a property that's frequently rented for film and photography shoots) took six months of planning and a few weeks to install.

"Barbie was a dream client because she doesn't exist as a person," Adler said. "She exists as fantasy and is the perfect client because she's always happy and fun and loves everything. I thought to myself, 'How would Barbie live?' What I thought was Barbie would have a house that is glamorous, kittenish, chic, colorful and happy — as well as functional."

Adler lined Barbie's bedroom with wall-to-wall pink carpeting emblazoned with her initial. The closet is filled with 50 pairs of pink peep-toe heels while her kitchen is stocked with cupcake-making ingredients. An in-house museum features 25 vintage Barbie dolls on display. In the garage? A pink Volkswagen New Beetle with a motorized pop-up vanity in the trunk.

"I think this really is Barbie's Malibu Dream House because the setting is so incredibly dreamy and ethereal," Adler said. "We're perched on a cliff in Malibu overlooking the ocean. It's a fantasyland for anyone. It was difficult to find the house to celebrate Barbie's 50th birthday because it had to be the ultimate Malibu house, and I think we found it."

Decorating Barbie's real-world dream home, which will be the site Monday of a star-studded soiree celebrating the doll's birthday, was a dream for Adler, the potter and decorator who has served as head judge on Bravo's "Top Design." He said Mattel gave him access to the company's archives, including a look at all of Barbie's various dream homes over the years.

Following the festivities, most of Barbie's custom decor will be shipped to the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas to furnish a special pink-tinted Barbie Suite that will be available for bachelorette parties, birthdays or anyone who wants to live like Barbie. Other items will be available from the "Jonathan Adler Loves Barbie" collection launching in September.

See, I find that disturbing. This isn't a nice cute story, it's a horrifying story.

Think that the mansion comes with Ken?

Tattoo barbie makes parents cry

Parents in California are very upset that Mattel is selling tattoo barbie.

The Barbie comes with a set of tattoo stickers that can be placed anywhere on her body and a tattoo gun that allows children to stamp temporary tattoos on the doll's clothes and on themselves, KVOR-TV, Sacramento, reported Thursday.

"I think it's attracting kids too young that want to expose parts of body to show off tattoos," Sacramento-area parent Jen Alcayaga said.

Some parents said they find the doll relatively harmless.

See, when there are toys that I don't like I don't buy them. Who'd of thought that parents could take control and say no.

Besides, temporarry tatoos aren't exactly new or controversial. They give them out at churches, to pre-schoolers, kids put them on their hands. . .

Couple tries to trade kids for a bird

A couple in Louisiana was caught trying to trade two kids (who were not theirs) for a cockatoo and $175.

Donna Greenwell, who babysits the 5-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl, is also charged in the deal, which was negotiated via telephone.

Paul J. Romero, 46, and Brandy Lynn Romero, 27, had been trying unsuccessfully for years to start a family.

Police say Greenwell offered the kids up for $2000, but when the Romeros couldn't meet the price, a deal was sealed with the pet cockatoo (and $175 for legal fees.)

The kids are now in state custody. Their father has expressed interest in getting custody. The mom is reportedly in Texas.

Why did the mother have these random people watching these kids and why did the father not know about it? Poor kids. I hope they get to live with someone that values them more than a bird.

Bishop arrested for helping a child read on the chimney

A bishop in London was arrested after helping his sons onto the chimney to read a book as part of a contest.

Bishop Jonathan Blake, of the Open Episcopal Church, took pictures of his sons Nathan, eight, and Dominic, seven, while they sat on top of their two-storey home.

The children were calmly holding a book called "The Killer Underpants" for a school competition to find the most unusual place where a pupil had read a book.

After a neighbor alerted the police, the clergyman said he was arrested, driven away in a cage in the back of a van and kept overnight in a cell.

"I was taken out in handcuffs in front of the whole neighborhood while my children were in tears," the 52-year-old told Reuters on Thursday. "I was kept in the cells without any information about what was taking place from 7 p.m. until 10 a.m. the following morning.

"I am appalled and incredulous. I would never have imagined in a thousand years that this could have happened." The children were wearing safety harnesses and got on to the chimney via a flat roof at the back of the house in Welling, southeast London, he added.

Sounds like the police went a little crazy. I hope that the kids win the contest.

Text messanging for toddlers

LeapFrog has created a blackberry for toddlers.

The LeapFrog Text & Learn, which is scheduled to arrive in U.S. stores this summer, is modeled after a personal digital assistant and allows children to practice spelling and computer skills with games that emulate text messaging, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

"Busy 3-year-olds will love to 'play' like their parents do," LeapFrog wrote in the description for the $21.99 toy.

No word as to if the toy will teach toddlers how to spell using text language and smileys ;) .

Baby born with 12 perfectly formed fingers and toes

A baby in California has been born with 12 fingers and 12 toes.

According to doctors at the Saint Luke's Hospital in San Francisco, a perfectly healthy baby with extra fingers and toes was born three weeks ago, to Kris Hubbard and Miryoki Gross of Dale City.

“Nurses and doctors, looked so normal they couldn't tell, they told me he was six pounds in good health, that was all they said,” said Miryoki Gross. Nobody initially took notice of the abnormality in the baby, until his father pointed it out.

The condition of having extra digits is called polydactyly and has a genetic origin. Though it is not a very uncommon trait, it was special in the case of Baby Kamani Hubbard since all his 12 fingers are fully developed and functional, as are the toes.
Usually, the extra digits in cases of polydactyly are vestigial and do not serve any function.

The condition has been running in Kamani Hubbard's paternal family. “Some family members have had six fingers, not completely developed,” said his father, Kris Hubbard, adding that six toes had never cropped up before, in his family.

Mostly, cases of polydactyly are surgically corrected. Kris Hubbard himself had nubs of sixth fingers, which were removed during his early childhood.

But the perfect development and functionality of the fingers in Kamani Hubbard's case is intriguing and the doctors are now in a dilemma over their surgical removal.

“I would be tempted to leave those fingers in place. I realize children would tease each other over the slightest things, and having extra digits on each hand is more than slight,” said Dr. Michael Treece, a Pediatrician at St. Luke's Hospital. “But imagine what sort of a pianist a 12-fingered person would be imagine what sort of a flamenco guitarist, if nothing else think of their typing skills.”

So would you keep the extra toes and fingers if this was your child?

Baby calls 911 -- sends Dad to jail

An eleven month old in Canada called 911 on his Dad's cell phone. When officers arrived to investigate they found a Marijuana farm at the home and arrested the babies father.

The incident occurred Friday morning in the town of White Rock, several miles north of the U.S. border, The Province newspaper in Vancouver reported Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police received an emergency call, but the line went dead. The RCMP automatically responds to hang-up calls, and when officers arrived at the home, they found a marijuana farm of 500 plants, the report said.

The unidentified 29-year-old father was arrested, and the child was placed in the custody of the provincial Ministry of Children and Family Development, which later located the mother, police said. The child's mother did not live at the residence.

Note to stupid criminals. Do not program your cell phone to automatically call 911.

Mr. Policeman, Mommy is under the bed

When police entered a house in Florida looking for a woman with outstanding warrants they were told she was not home by the adults in the household. However, the woman's daughter informed the police that her Mommy was under the bed.

Officers said two men and a woman at the house told officers that the woman had left, but then a 4-year old child approached one of the officers and revealed that the woman was under a bed.

Officers found the woman exactly where the child said she would be.

Sounds like she's an outstanding mother.

Police stop five and six year old from eloping to Africa

German police stopped a trio of youngsters planning a romantic elopement in Africa. The couple (she is six and he is five) were spotted at a train station with their official witness (who is seven) by police. The trio packed their bags with swimsuits and sunglasses and hiked about half a way to the train station. The trio did not however have any money or passports.

Officers persuaded the children they would not get far without tickets and money, but consoled them with a free tour of the police station, where they were shortly picked up by relieved parents.

Although any marriage plans have been put on hold for now, police did not altogether rule out the possibility of an African wedding.

"They can still put their plan into action at a later date," AFP quoted the spokesman as saying.

This will make a great story for their parents to tell when they're teenagers. I hope they enjoyed their tour of the police station and didn't get in too much trouble for running away and didn't give their parents too big a scare.