Indian elections dominated by elephant problems

Politicians in parts of rural India are facing demands for solutions to controlling elephant stampedes.

At rallies in Ranchi, the capital of the impoverished eastern state, candidates who promised to build new schools and roads have been heckled by farmers. They demanded: "What good is all that when we're not safe in our homes because of the elephants?"

ndia's growing population has meant settlers pushing into the dense jungles that used to be home to a large and untroubled elephant population.

Under pressure from humans, the beasts have in turn been forced into villages and fields to forage for food.

Confused, disorientated and hungry, they stumble into inhabited areas where their foraging expeditions often end in eye-to-eye confrontations with petrified villagers.

In January, a herd of nearly 150 hungry elephants rampaged through a village in the remote north-east, trampling to death a young family as they slept in their hut.

Farmers tired of watching elephants feasting on their crops and destroying their rickety huts have poisoned or electrocuted them. Others have shot them with poison-tipped arrows. Less lethally, some farmers have also enlisted the services of camels whose scent is apparently so unpleasant that it will drive even the laziest elephant away.

As voters look ahead to the first phase of polling on April 16, the streets of Ranchi, the capital of Jharkand, are linked with posters promising: "Save us from elephants and get our vote".

Saurabh Narayan Singh, a candidate for the Congress Party in Ranchi, said there were no easy solutions to a conflict in which both sides were justified in demanding space to live.

"I can only promise that if I'm elected, I'll train villagers to scare elephants away by bursting firecrackers or beating drums, as they do in Africa, or lighting torches and smearing fences with red chilli paste," said Mr Singh.

His rival, Subodh Kant Sahai, a candidate for the Bharatiya Janata party, said he would appoint more guards to police the area. "Well-equipped forest guards can manage the herds and keep them away from human habitations," he said.

Wow, and I thought politics were complicated here with the economy and health care. Those things are nothing compared to the horrors of elephants!!! Elephant Attack!!!

Man shoplifts a lot of shrimp

A Massachusetts man shoplifted over five hundred dollars worth of shrimp in four different shopping trips.

John Silvera, 46, pleaded guilty to charges of shoplifting and simple assault in connection with his arrest last month. Police said he stole about $500 worth of shrimp in four separate trips to the Salem Market Basket.

The Eagle-Tribune reported his plea deal required him to waive extradition so he can answer to another shoplifting charge from Methuen, where he is accused of making off with a jacket full of frozen shrimp at a Market Basket there.

Extradition for shrimp theft. Giggle. I wonder if he just had a lot of cocktail sauce.

Man attacks fiance because she made a bad sandwich

A Pennsylvania man attacked his fiance with a kitchen knife and his teeth because he didn't like the meatball sandwich she made him.

Just ask Lyndel Toppin's fiancée, whose middle finger was almost chopped off when Toppin allegedly attacked her with a kitchen knife, according to Upper Darby police.

The reason for the assault, cops say, was a poorly made meatball sandwich. Specifically, the cheese placement was all wrong, which infuriated Toppin. "That was the catalyst," police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said.

The 44-year-old woman, whom cops did not identify, was preparing dinner last week in her Kingston Road home when Toppin "became enraged due to the victim not placing cheese on his hoagie roll correctly," according to the arrest affidavit.

Toppin grabbed a knife from the other room and slashed her finger, causing a deep laceration, she told police at Delaware County Memorial Hospital, where she received 23 stitches to close the gash.

Also, instead of chomping on the meatball sub that she'd made him, Toppin wrapped his teeth around his girlfriend's left wrist and refused to let go, the criminal complaint says.

"Toppin bit down on the victim's arm and would not release his bite," Upper Darby Investigator Matthew Rowles wrote in his report. The bite left swelling and teeth marks.

"It was a barbaric attack," Chitwood said.

I wonder what he's going to do when he tastes the prison food?

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.

Man coughs up nail stuck in his nose for thirty years

A Colorado man stunned doctors when he coughed up a nail that could have been in his face for thirty years.

Prax Sanchez went to the doctor complaining of pain under his right eye. The doctor ordered an MRI, whose magnetisms seems to have dislodged the inch-long nail from Sanchez's sinuses, local TV station KKTV reported. On his way home, he coughed the nail up, much to his surprise.

"I never had any idea there was any metal in my face," Sanchez told KKTV.

He'd had a dizzy spell about a year ago, and has a x-ray taken of his head. At the time, doctors somehow missed the inch-long nail that appeared clearly in his films, Colorado's KOAA TV station reported.

Now that's disturbing. How could he not know that he had a nail in his nose. Eek!

Inmates use pigeons to smuggle cell phones into prison

Prison guards in Brazil have discovered carrier pigeons smuggling cell phone parts into a prison farm.

Guards at the Danilio Pinheiro prison near the southeastern city of Sorocaba last week noticed a pigeon resting on an electric wire with a small cloth bag tied to one of its legs.

"The guards nabbed the bird after luring it down with some food and discovered components of a small cell phone inside the bag," police investigator Celso Soramiglio said Tuesday.

One day later, another pigeon was spotted dragging a similar bag inside the prison's exercise yard. Inside the bag was the cell phone's charger, Soramiglio said.

The birds were apparently bred and raised inside the prison, smuggled out, outfitted with the cell phone parts and then released to fly back.

"Pigeons instinctively fly back home, always," the investigator said.

Soramiglio said that police have not discovered who raised the pigeons or the name of the inmate who was going to receive the cell phone, but that he hoped the telephone carrier would provide the information.

"Some of them are members of organized crime groups that use cell phones to talk to family and friends and to give and receive orders for criminal actions outside and inside prisons," Soramiglio said.

Now that's inventive. Too bad they can't put their brains to use doing some good.

San Fransisco bars overrun with snuggies

Over two hundred people showed up for a San Fransisco pub crawl wearing snuggies, blankets with arms.

Keith Charles F., 25 (he said he preferred to not give his last name to the newspaper), and Patricia Prislin, 24, said they met on social networking Web site Yelp and started talking about a recent Snuggie pub crawl in Chicago and the possibility of starting a Snuggie event closer to home, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday.

The pair said they didn't just ask people to show up in their Snuggies, they offered costume competitions for best male, best female, best group, best couple and sluttiest Snuggie.

"We kept moving the date back because people were not going to get their Snuggies in time," Keith Charles said to the newspaper before the event. "Don't tell anyone but I got a red one off of eBay."

I bed everyone was warm and comfortable, yet able to easily move their arms.

Man claims apples caused high blood alcohol reading

A politician in Poland who failed a blood alcohol test blames the apples that he had eaten earlier in the day.

Asked why a traffic police check Sunday showed he had 0.7 units of alcohol in his blood, Marek Latas denied having drunk alcohol that day.

"I am diabetic, I ate a few apples before driving.

"I have been involved in no accident, I underwent a routine roadside check. I was confident there was no chance I had alcohol in my blood," said Latas, a member of parliament for the conservative opposition Law and Justice Party.

The prosecutor's office is investigating his case, the website said. In Poland, the legal limit for alcohol when driving is 0.2 units. Fermented apple juice can be used to make cider, an alcoholic drink.

That's what they all say. I bet he's friends with the guy who blamed ice cream on his alcohol reading.

Teacher's job at risk after sex-ed talk

Parents are calling for an Italian teacher to loose her job after she discussed genital piercing, handcuffs and whips with her sixth grade students.

Parents of the children in the fifth and final year of an elementary school in this northwestern Italian city have asked the school to keep her away from their children.

The headmaster of the elementary school, Vincenzo Guarino, said the teacher was guilty of ''serious naivety'' in not realising that ''certain subjects and language can be used in a class of 15-year-olds, but not 11-year-olds''.

''It's true that she was only answering questions but there are ways of discussing these things''.

Parents say the unidentified teacher went into detail about bondage and S&M after an initial discussion on masturbation led to oral sex and further afield.

The teacher has defended herself by saying she was only doing what she had been told in a training course for teaching children about sex, which emphasised the importance of speaking frankly in order ''to clear things up''.

Not really sure how a teacher could think that was appropriate for sixth graders. However, it seems like her training course wasn't appropriate either.

What do you think? Should she be fired? Disciplined? Transferred to another school?

Bad salad. Just eat the sandwich

Normally I stick to odd news but I couldn't help it with this one. The front page of MSN is featuring a BLT surprise salad.

The recipe includes 12 strips of bacon and blue cheese among other not great for you ingredients.

One of the reviews gives us this fantastic tip: this recipe is for 4 people. So really its a healthy salad when you take this into account. Um, even if you split twelve pieces of bacon with four people it's still not healthy. I think the surprise is that it's far worse for you than a real BLT.

Remember, just because it's a salad doesn't make it healthy.

Australians celebrate with toad killing festival

In a celebration that would make PETA very upset hundreds of Australians celebrated as thousands of poison toads were killed.

"To see the look on the faces of the kids as we were handling and weighing the toads and then euthanizing them was just...," Townsville City Councilman Vern Veitch said, breaking off to let out a contented sigh. "The children really got into the character of the event."

The toads _ which can grow up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) in length _ were imported from South America to Queensland in 1935 in a failed attempt to control beetles on sugarcane plantations. Trouble was, the toads couldn't jump high enough to eat the beetles, which live on top of cane stalks.

The toads bred rapidly, and their millions-strong population now threatens many local species across Australia. They spread diseases, such as salmonella, and produce highly toxic venom from glands in their skin that can kill would-be predators. The toads are also voracious eaters, chomping up insects, frogs, small reptiles and mammals _ even birds. Cane toads are only harmful to humans if their poison is swallowed.

Queensland politician Shane Knuth, a longtime nemesis of the cane toad who came up with the Toad Day Out idea, figured the best way to combat the problem was to gather Australians en masse for a targeted hunt. With each adult female cane toad capable of producing 20,000 eggs, he said, killing even a few thousand toads could ultimately wipe out millions.

On Saturday night, participants fanned out under the cloak of darkness to hunt down the toads. On Sunday, the toads _ which the rules stated must be captured alive and unharmed _ were brought to collection points and examined by experts to ensure they were not harmless frogs. The creatures were then killed, either by freezing or by being placed in plastic bags filled with carbon dioxide. Some of the remains will be ground into fertilizer for sugarcane farmers.

Oh, what a heartwarming family festival. They've got to be proud. The kids are so excited as the toads are weighed and then killed. Yay, we're killing frogs!

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 robs police chief at police convention

A man in Pennsylvania wasn't being very smart when he pulled a gun on a retired police chief who was attending a police convention.

John Comparetto says as he came out of a stall in the men's bathroom, a man pointed a gun in his face and demanded money.

Comparetto, a retired police chief from New York, gave up his money and cell phone. But when the man fled, Comparetto and some colleagues chased him. They arrested 19-year-old Jerome Marquis Blanchett of Harrisburg as he was trying to leave in a taxi.

Blanchett, who was awaiting trial of four previous robbery charges, was arraigned Friday before a District Court judge who set bail at $1 million.

When a reporter asked Blanchett for comment as he was led out of court, he said, "I'm smooth."

Doesn't seem that smooth to me. Seems very stupid to me. Perhaps he learn to be a smarter criminal when he spends time in jail for his crimes.

Principal issues statement: No vampires on campus

The principal at a fancy prep school in Boston has released a statement denying the existence of vampires at his school after a group of students were convinced that a vampire attack had happened on campus.

Students at the school, which was founded in 1635, began e-mailing news organizations Wednesday night with the strange story of vampires roaming the halls.

"Supposedly 3 students believe that they are vampires and today when a student was bitten the police were informed," wrote one student in a message to TheBostonChannel.com. "I heard that one girl was arrested another suspended."

Police, however, denied reports that anyone at the school was bitten.

The rumors were strong enough to cause anxiety among the student body and disrupt classes on Thursday.

"I seek your cooperation in redirecting your energy toward the learning objectives of the day. Please do not sensationalize or discuss these rumors,"

Teta wrote in a notice obtained by the Boston Globe and sent to faculty, students and parents.Teta said she was concerned that some students' safety might be jeopardized because of the rumors."At no time was anyone's safety in jeopardy," she wrote.

In its long, rich history the school's students have included revolutionary firebrands Ben Franklin, Sam Adams, John Hancock, but likely never vampires.

Boston police acknowledged visiting the school Wednesday after learning about the rumors."We did go over there and speak to some of the students and quelled the rumors that were going and kind of told them the effect those rumors could have on the rest of the student population," spokesman Eddy Chrispin said.

At least that's what they want them to think. . . . Perhaps it's really like the school in the book Evernight that's been a haven for vampires for years and this is just a big coverup.

Boy obsessed with twilight bites his classmates

A thirteen year old in Iowa was disciplined for biting eleven of his classmates.

According to the report, the boy bit a 13-year-old female student on the right hand at a track meet on March 13. McCombs Vice Principal Connie Sloan investigated the incident and found that the boy had bitten 10 other students.

When police contacted the boy's father, he said that his son didn't mean to hurt anyone and that he was biting other students because of the movie "Twilight."

The film "Twilight" is based on a series of novels by Stephenie Meyer about a teenage girl's love affair with a vampire. The film, popular with tweens and teens, has grossed more than $191 million in box office receipts in the United States since its November release.

I think what the boy missed about the book is that the vampires don't actually bite people.

Toddler wandering on the highway babysat by prisoners

A work crew from a minimum security prison entertained a toddler that they found wandering on the side of the highway.

The six minimum-security inmates shared their lunches with the toddler, who apparently wandered away from home, and played with him while authorities located the parents and investigated, said Correctional Officer Gary Kershner, who was overseeing the prisoners.

"Me and my inmate crew, we just kind of baby-sat for the next three hours," Kershner said. "They were as much entertained by the child as he was by them."

The boy was on Route 550 about two miles south of Woodsboro, not far from the Pennsylvania line, when a dump truck driver stopped to pluck him off the road shortly after 9 a.m., said Trooper First Class David Greenwood, who was at the scene.

Kershner, who had stopped his van to help, said the truck driver handed the boy to him for safekeeping until police arrived. A State Highway Administration truck driver accompanying the litter-picking crew also stayed on the scene, agency spokesman Charles Gischlar said.

Troopers eventually found the boy's home nearby, Greenwood said. He said the child was reunited with his family after Child Protective Services investigated and found no immediate cause to suspect abuse or neglect.

The boy's father, who works at home, told police he had left the child in the care of an 18-year-old daughter, who then left without notice, Greenwood said. State police were conducting their own investigation and would report their findings to Frederick County prosecutors for possible charges, Lt. Michael J. Brady said.

Thank goodness for the work crew. The teenage babysitter should be charged leaving a kid alone like that.

A Bobcat Walked into a Bar

A bobcat walked into a bar in Arizona and started attacking the customers!

Officers called to the Chapparal Bar in Cottonwood arrived to find the bobcat in the parking lot, where they shot and killed it, KVRD-FM radio reported.

Tests were ordered to determine if the animal was rabid. It wasn't clear how seriously the victims had been injured.

Cottonwood police say the animal attacked Monday when it scratched a woman who thought she had hit it with her car. Then police got a report of a bobcat acting aggressively toward a woman outside a Pizza Hut.

Later came the call from the bar that a bobcat was inside as patrons climbed atop bar stools to get away.

That's an entertaining visual. Drunk bar coustomers climbing on their chairs to get away from the crazy bobcat. He was probably just looking for a drink and some snacks.

Skateboarding parrot kidnapped!

Gordo the skateboarding parrot has been kidnapped! Oh no!

The 30-year-old green Guatemalan parrot, a popular attraction for a decade in the San Gabriel Valley community of Baldwin Park, was taken from his front porch cage Wednesday morning.

Owner Fred Mireles said his mother heard some commotion and spotted a man running away with Gordo. The 47-year-old childless man says he's devastated, adding Gordo is like a kid to him.

Baldwin Park police Sgt. Darryl Kosaka said it could be difficult to recover the parrot, noting that animals are often stolen to become pets in other households or to be sold.

Poor Gordo. I hope he's ok and that he gets to skateboard again.

Third grader brings grenade to school for show and tell

A third grade student caused quite a scare in his elementary classroom when he brought a grenade to school.

The grenade brought in by a third grader turned out to be a simple paperweight, although Columbus police had to be called to make certain.

"It wasn't anything secretive; the student didn't try to sneak it in," said district spokesman Lee Cole. "It's a teachable moment to make sure parents know what their kids are bringing to school."

The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch said Thursday the student brought the paperweight in because his class was studying World War II, and won't be punished for the uproar.

I guess it's too much for us to say that parents should know what their kids are doing.

Colorado homes have flammable water!

Several homeowners in Colorado are concerned after finding that their drinking water is flammable because of gas in their well.

Hudson resident Renee McClure said she is in fear of her home's water supply since her son showed her he could ignite their kitchen tap water using only a cigarette lighter, KMGH-TV, Denver, reported Tuesday.

"We were shocked," McClure said of the recent occurrence. "My horses and animals drink it. My kids drink it. I want to know if it's safe."

Noble Energy (NYSE:NBL) official Stephen Flaherty said the flammable water appears to be the result of methane gas found in an area well. He added the methane gas level in the water at one of the three afflicted homes, according to tests, was not naturally occurring.

The three reported cases of flammable water in Hudson have at least one environmental group crying foul.

"This isn't an isolated incident, by any means," Environment Colorado member Gavin Clark told KMGH. "Our reports tell us there are about two dozen, if not more, similar incidents of oil and gas drilling not only affecting people's drinking water but health in general."

Now that's terrifying. The kid was lighting the water with a lighter? I can't imagine it's healthy.

Woman uses fake ID to get plastic surgery

A woman in California used a fake ID to purchase breast implants and liposuction and then left town.

Huntington Beach police said Monday that a 30-year-old woman opened a line of credit in someone else's name in September and had the procedures worth more than $12,000 performed at the Pacific Center For Plastic Surgery.

Employees said she never returned for follow-up visits.

I bet she'll get a lot of use out of those fake breasts in jail.

Bosses in Italy can not scold employees loudly

An Italian court ruled that it is unlawful for employers to scold employees loud enough that other employees can hear.

ANSA reported that Italy's highest court of appeal ordered a Milan company to pay damages to a 12-year employee subjected to "continuous" and ''excessive'' reprimands for months before being fired.

The Italian news service said mobbing generally refers to the collective bullying of workers by co-workers.

ANSA noted that last week the Cassation Court said it was OK for workers to ask bosses ''Who the (expletive) do you think you are?'' as long as it was an ''instinctive'' reaction to being reprimanded by superiors.

Now that's a nanny state.

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?

Germans celebrate the fall of the Berlin wall with dominoes

Germans will be celebrating the fall of the Berlin wall by knocking over a wall of huge dominoes.

"We want to knock over the wall once again," said Klaus Wowereit, mayor of Berlin. Assembly of more than 1,000 styrofoam slabs, each 2.5 meters (eight feet) high and one meter (three feet) wide, is beginning this week.

At a ceremony on November 9, the day in 1989 on which crowds of east Germans swept through the wall and began tearing it down, the slabs will be pushed over.

The "dominoes" will be decorated by young people from Berlin and abroad in a myriad different styles.

"I was given the opportunity to paint a map on this domino, which is great fun," said Mathieu Chergait, an exchange student from France as he worked on the slab with two Korean students.

Another is decorated with a design portraying a multicolored brick wall being opened with a giant zipper to represent the ripping down of the barrier that divided the city for three decades.

How neat is that. I hope we get pictures.

Kings jarred head to be returned to Ghana

The 170 year old preserved head of the former King of Ghana will be returned to its home country after it was discovered in a medical center in the Netherlands.

Bonsu's head was discovered last year in a jar of formaldehyde at the Leiden University Medical Center's anatomical collection by a Dutch author.

Ghana immediately asked for it to be returned and the Dutch government asked the hospital to cooperate.

"It will go back to Ghana, where we assume it will be buried," Dutch Education, Culture and Science Minister Ronald Plasterk told The Associated Press.

The hospital said in a statement Friday it is in talks with the Ghanaian Embassy "to carefully prepare for the return of King Badu Bonsu II's head."

The hospital declined to give more details of the case, citing a "well-considered policy about our anatomic-historical collection."

The decision to return it to Ghana is in line with similar moves by museums in recent years. Several British museums have returned the skulls and other bones of Australian Aborigines following lobbying by indigenous leaders.

The Ghanaian Embassy in The Hague had no immediate comment.

'He's incomplete'
Last year, the embassy urged the return for the king and his clan in the country's Ashanti region.

"Without burial of the head, the deceased will be hunted in the afterlife. He's incomplete," Eric Odoi-Anim, a minister at the embassy, said at the time. "It's also a stigma on his clan, on his kinsmen, and him being a (high-ranking) chief — this is even more serious."

Prominent Dutch writer Arthur Japin told Dutch television he found the head while researching a historical novel.

"He's got a little ring-beard, his eyes are closed as if he's sleeping," said Japin. "And my first thought was, this is not fitting."

I'm glad that he will no longer be haunted in the afterlife and will now be complete.

Pink Elephants on Parade!

A pink elephant has been spotted in Botswana!

A wildlife cameraman took pictures of the calf when he spotted it among a herd of about 80 elephants in the Okavango Delta.

Experts believe it is probably an albino, which is an extremely rare phenomenon in African elephants.

They are unsure of its chances of long-term survival - the blazing African sunlight may cause blindness and skin problems for the calf.

Mike Holding, who spotted the baby while filming for a BBC wildlife programme, said: "We only saw it for a couple of minutes as the herd crossed the river.

He's cute. Makes me think of Dumbo.

Naked boy scares woman and poodle

A woman in Michigan was startled when she was accosted by a naked teenager while walking her poodle.

Lt. Craig Mast of the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office said a 14-year-old youth walked away from a youth behavioral treatment facility Monday morning, stripped down, and was with a “giant” white poodle when he approached a woman working in her yard just after 11:30 a.m. Monday in the area of Oceana Drive and Lake Road.

“The young naked man approached her with this poodle, and she immediately realized something peculiar,” Mast said.

When the woman asked the boy if he was all right, he told her some statements that didn’t make much sense, Mast said. The boy said his mother had kicked him out of her home in the Saginaw area.

When the woman, 53, of Hart Township, got out her cell phone to call for help for the boy, he assaulted her, pushing her in the upper chest, and took her phone. He fled the scene and broke the phone in half, the sheriff’s office stated.

The woman went to a neighbor’s house and called 911.

Deputies responded to the victim and shortly afterwards they located the boy near Oceana Drive and Lake Road in Hart Township near the American Legion Hall.

My favorite part of this story is when she realized something was odd after being approached by a naked teenager. Really?

I hope the poodle is ok.

Worlds deadliest spider found in Tulsa grocery store

An employee of Whole Foods in Tulsa, Oklahoma found a very deadly spider in the bananas.

The spider was given to University of Tulsa Animal Facilities director Terry Childs who said this type of spider kills more people than any other.

Childs said a bite will kill a person in about 25 minutes and while there is an antidote he doesn't know of any in the Tulsa area.

Spiders often are found in imported produce, and a manager at Whole Foods says the store regularly checks its goods and that's how the spider was found.

I'm glad that worker didn't get bitten. I bet he felt lucky after he found out what kind they were.

Teen racks up 12,000 phone bill!

An Australian teenager has racked up a cell phone bill higher than the annual wages of some adults.

A spokesman for the Telstra telecommunications company said the unidentified teen enjoyed 384 Internet sessions at a total cost of $10,686, while also amassing other charges through 373 calls and more than 500 text messages, the Melbourne Herald Sun said in its Friday edition.

Julie Wentworth, an Anglicare financial counselor, called the teen's phone bill "ridiculous" and called for enhanced bill monitoring of users' accounts.

"We are dealing with a generation who feel they can't get by without a mobile phone," Wentworth said.

"Some don't have enough self-control, but it was ridiculous the bill got to that point."

Wentworth told the Herald Sun the teen somehow managed to convince Telstra staff to revive his phone account after being disconnected when his bill reached $2,000.

I think this kid needs a mother that supervises him. Who lets their kid do that? Take the phone away!

The dog ate my pay!

A woman in North Carolina was upset when she realized that her dog ate $400!

Kelley Davis said she had an extra $400 in cash to deposit after working extra hours as a physical therapist. She told the News & Observer of Raleigh that on Friday she planned to deposit the money, but it wasn't in her pocket.

She remembered leaving it in the bedroom and it occurred to her that the family's 2-year-old greater Swiss mountain dog, Augie, might have eaten it.

Davis, 42, said when she took Augie for a walk Saturday, she found parts of three $100 bills and five $20s in his leavings. She washed them with a garden hose and hopes to find enough pieces to exchange them for cash.

EEW! Poor woman.

California town hires company to spray paint lawn

A California town has hired a company to spray paint the lawns of foreclosed houses.

Perris spokesman Joe Vargo said contractor Dave Milligan uses an environmentally friendly dye that lasts up to six months and is harmless to people and pets. The city hopes the foreclosed properties are purchased and occupied before the lawn needs a touchup.

It costs about $550 to spray-paint a lawn. The city, some 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles, has set aside $2 million in an effort to stabilize foreclosure-fraught neighborhoods.

Sounds tacky. At least it's not astroturf.

British duck thinks it's a dog

A British couple says that the duck that they adopted has been imitating the dogs that it lives with amusing the entire town.

Steph and Tony Tufft from the Charminster area of Bournemouth, England, said they adopted Essy the duck when she was only 8 weeks old and the waterfowl chose the couple's two dogs as role models, The Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.

"We are known throughout Charminster. People come out of bars to see her. They love it," Tony Tufft said. "She doesn't know she's a duck. She must think she's a dog. She goes up to other dogs. People can't understand it and the dogs are really confused as well."

"We even had to buy Essy her own lead, after getting strange looks from people who thought we were duck-napping," he said.

His wife said taking the duck for walks has become a spectator event for locals.

"It's as if Brad Pitt was walking on the lead, the amount of people that come out," she said.

I think that the duck should get it's own reality show. Perhaps judging dog competitions.

Woman shot because her neighbor thought she was a monkey

A man in Malaysia shot his neighbor because he thought she was a monkey who was picking fruit from his tree.

Yahaya Othman, police chief in eastern Pahang state, said the woman was gathering fruit Thursday when her neighbor shot her.

The man came home and saw rustling in the tree and fired into it, Yahaya said. "Then there was screaming ... and only then did he know it was his neighbor."

Note to self, don't climb neighbors fruit trees to pick fruit without thier knowledge.

Americas Next Top Model Stampede!!

There was a stampede at the America's Next Top Model auditions!

Thousands of aspiring models queued in short skirts and high heels outside the Park Central Hotel in Manhattan over the weekend, some waiting all night for a chance to compete in the latest round of the popular TV series.

However, fighting broke out and women were knocked over in a panicked stampede after a car belching smoke reportedly pulled up near the queue on Saturday afternoon, prompting cries of "Fire!" and "There's a bomb".

As women stumbled over police barricades, witnesses told a local radio station that the mayhem was compounded after a man jumped out of a car and started grabbing purses.

After the stampede, shoes and clothing littered the street outside the hotel.

"The girls were running like it was 9/11 part two. I feared for my life," said Jennifer Brown, an aspiring model from Brooklyn.

Oh, no!! There was mascara, weaves, stilettos and weaves everywhere!! Oh the horror!

I suspect that Tyra will theme a photoshoot based on this incident in her next season and she'll pick at least one of the stampeded for her season so we can have her backstory overcoming the horror of the auditions to become FEIRCE!

Sausage Everywhere!

Two trucks crashed in Wisconsin leaving sausages scattered all over the road.

DeWitt Road, where many of the boxes of meat spilled, will remain closed for an undetermined amount of time during cleanup, according to Sheboygan County sheriff's Lt. Chad Broeren.

The two semitrailer trucks were southbound on I-43 when one hit the rear of the other. The first semi continued southbound and eventually pulled off the roadway. But the collision sent the second semi into a guard rail, then a bridge face before it rolled several times down the embankment. It came to rest under I-43 on DeWitt Road after spilling its entire load of meat products.

I wonder what they'll do with that sausage now. I know my dogs would love it.

Scientist gets hot, swims with lion

A zoologist in South Africa enjoys swimming and sleeping with wild (and dangerous) animals.

With his unusual methods, he has developed some exceptionally personal bonds with his students, playing, sleeping and even swimming with animals. Taking a well deserved swim in the Crocodile River, just south of the Magaliesburg mountains, Mr Richardson, 34, was joined by Meg the lioness.

Weighing a staggering 185 kg this boisterous tawny lioness playfully splashed around with the experienced behaviourist.

"We went swimming purely for Meg's enrichment," Mr Richardson said.

"That's one of the reasons I believe my animals are so relaxed.

"Those who like it go for swims, others go for walks in the greater area and others just prefer to go and chill under a tree in the middle of the park."

Someday his family is going to be shocked and suprised when one of those lions eats him for dinner.

Woman arrested for drugging her bosses coffee

An Arkansas woman has been been arrested after she put tranquilizers in her bosses coffee because she thought he needed to chill out.

Police said the 24-year-old woman admitted to detectives that she slipped the drugs into veteranarian John Duckett's drink. Officers said Duckett knew something was wrong shortly after drinking some of the coffee Tuesday morning.

Officers said the woman cleaned the cages at the the Reynolds Road Animal Clinic.

I bet they are both wonderful people.

Boy finds drug money, gives it away at school

A Minnesota boy who found thousands of dollars on the side of the road gave it away to his friends and teachers.

When asked how he got the $100 bills, the student first said it was his allowance. He later said he found it in a ditch — and led police to a spot by a highway where they also found marijuana and scales.

The boy, described as learning disabled, gave away about $11,000 of the nearly $18,000 in the bag. Law officers collected the money from students and from the school bus aide, who had reported that someone slipped $1,200 into her bag.

I hope no one comes after the kid. How sweet is he. The police are not planning on charging him with anything.

Craft store pulls quilt magzine because it's too racy

A craft store has pulled an issue of Quilters Home magazine because it features nudity.

The Hudson, Ohio, based chain declined to comment on removing the January/February issue of the magazine from shelves but said the stores will continue to carry future issues, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.

New Jersey-based quilting aficionado Mark Lipinski, who put together the controversial Quilter's Home issue, said the images in the magazine, including nude pictures, a quilt of a gun-toting Jesus and a Viagra-themed quilt, are meant to challenge the idea that all quilters are conservative older women.

"All the other quilting magazines you see are tea parties, and we're more like a cocktail party," Lipinski said. "Everyone loves a cocktail party."

A Viagra themed quilt? Now that's funny.

Man steals car to go to court

And Ohio man stole a car so that he could report to court to be arraigned for theft.

Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Betsy Sundermann said John Spinnie, 42, allegedly stole a Chevrolet Uplander so he could drive to his 9 a.m. Tuesday arraignment at the Hamilton County Justice Center on charges of stealing $1,800 worth of jewelry, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Wednesday.

Sundermann said Spinnie was pulled over by a Cincinnati police officer before he reached the courthouse and was arrested on a charge of receiving stolen property. The suspect claimed an unknown man had allowed him to use the car for a $10 fee.

Yeah, we believe you, it was a one armed man wasn't it.

The Dog was not stolen, he was hiding

A dog that was reported stolen in Michigan has been found, hiding in his owners house.

The owner of Zeus, the $2500 Chihuahua, told Troy Police today the dog was found later Saturday, hiding in his home on Wolverine after a break-in overnight, Troy Lt. Chuck Pappas said.

The owner originally reported Zeus stolen, along with a laptop computer and a shotgun.

I don't think Zeus is a very good watchdog. Sounds more like a scardykat.

Naked Karate Fighter Arrested

A Pennsylvania man was arrested for trying to start a naked Karate fight.

Gary Jones, 47, pleaded guilty to a first-degree misdemeanor charge. Three children less than 16 years of age were among those who saw him walk out of his house naked, The (Hanover, Pa.) Evening Sun reported Tuesday.

Jones, of Gettysburg, was sentenced to one month in jail followed by two months of house arrest and 21 months of probation. He was also ordered to avoid contact with his neighbors and to pay a $200 fine.

Police said Jones emerged naked from his home after consuming alcohol Aug. 1 and approached neighbors Dennis Hucks, Gary Kerns and Andrea Orndorff while Huck's three children played nearby. He told the men that he knew karate and asked if any of them wanted to fight.

Jones allegedly told officers that he knew leaving his house naked was illegal, but he came out anyway because he is a "serious martial artist."

I'm sure he is. And really, he's 47? I'd expect this type of behavior from a 20 year old (who would probably have less wrinkles).

Crazy chimp impresses researchers with his planning ability

A crazy chimp in Sweden has impressed researches with his planning ability by stockpiling rocks to throw at zoo visitors.

According to a report in the journal Current Biology, the 31-year-old alpha male started building his weapons cache in the morning before the zoo opened, collecting rocks and knocking out disks from concrete boulders inside his enclosure. He waited until around midday before he unleashed a "hailstorm" of rocks against visitors, the study said.

"These observations convincingly show that our fellow apes do consider the future in a very complex way," said the author of the report, Lund University Ph.D. student Mathias Osvath. "It implies that they have a highly developed consciousness, including lifelike mental simulations of potential events."

They will one day take over the world! (You'd know that if you've ever seen Planet of the Apes).

Man pays electric bill in pennies

A Virginia man who was upset over his high electric bill showed up to pay his bill with over 29,000 pennies.

John Almany of Bristol said he and his brother, Gary, concocted the plan of using pennies to pay the large bill in January and contacted several banks to raise the right amount of change, the Bristol (Va.) Herald-Courier reported Monday.

"I called some nearby banks to see if I could exchange cash for pennies," Almany said. "We got all the way to the Ws in the phone book. One bank gave me $170 in pennies and the other $123."

Almany said he and his brother loaded the loose pennies into two duffel bags, which together weighed 170 pounds, and brought them to the Bristol Virginia Utilities office.

"We pulled into BVU about 2 (p.m.) and took the bags of unrolled pennies to the pay counter," Almany said. "To make my case better, I noticed a man just paid cash right before me. I laid my bill on the counter and told the lady, 'Here is my bill and I'm here to pay every penny of it."'

Because that's the way to make your electric company have lower costs, tie up their employees counting your bill. That's not cute or funny, that's just stupid.

Radio station shut down for telling listeners where to buy pot

Authorities in Florida have shut down a radio station for telling listeners where to buy drugs and prostitutes.

Authorities say the "Street Heat" broadcast included live advertisements for criminal gangs and discussions of where to buy drugs and find prostitutes.

Balthazard Senat and Christopher Robert Roth were arrested Friday and charged with unauthorized transmission and possession of cannabis with intent to deliver. Officials say Roth was a DJ for the radio station.

Wonder what their listeners will do now.

Man breaks out of jail, robs store then breaks back into jail

A man in Florida is accused of breaking out of jail, robbing a local store and then trying to break back into jail.

Harry Jackson, 25, of St. Marys, Fla., was arrested Saturday entering the jail with 14 packs of cigarettes allegedly stolen from Snappy Foods about a block away, said Sheriff Tommy Gregory.

Jackson allegedly escaped by using wire from a broom to unlock an electronic door in the jail, Gregory said, adding Jackson has been charged with escape and burglary.

He at least could have stolen some beer.

Man arrested for trying to get a hug from a cop

A man in Michigan was arrested after he cursed at a police officer who refused to give him a hug.

Police were called because of reports that a man was yelling and carrying on in the street, when officers approached them he agreed to return to his home.

But he then approached a patrol car and yelled at an officer, asking for a hug and swearing at him when the officer refused, while still blocking traffic.

The man was arrested and detained. He refused a Breathalyzer test and may face disorderly conduct charges.

Aw, he just wanted a hug.

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.

Octupus squeezes into little box

An Octopus at the New England Aquarium surprised keepers when it climbed into a small box to try to get lunch.

Aquarium workers often place food inside locked boxes for the intelligent animals to crack open. It's what the aquarium calls an "enrichment activity," but it didn't go as planned Thursday.

In this case, crabs were locked in a smaller box inside the bigger box, which is 14 inches per side. The impatient Truman bypassed the locks and squeezed his body through a 2-inch hole in the exterior box.

He spent about 30 minutes inside before slithering out, delighting staff and guests who witnessed the spectacle.

He never did get the smaller box open.

Poor guy went through all that work and never got lunch.