Man lost in swamp survives on urine, stems

 Louisiana - The 65-year-old head of a university in Colombia says that he ate a few plant stems and drank urine to survive four days stranded in a Louisiana swamp. Francisco Piedrahita of Universidad Icesi in Cali, was spotted from a Sheriff’s Office helicopter in a clearing several hundred yards from the trail where he had to photograph brightly colored male wood ducks. He left the end of Wood Duck Trail in search of a pond that he later learned had dried up, he said. The walk in the park “looked like no risk at all” but he was worried about losing his mobile phone, so he had left it in the safe at his hotel, he said. He tried to make his way back to the trail but soon found himself in a swamp.  More

Girl has 30 ants in her ears

Taiwan - A 16-year-old girl in Taiwan had more than 30 ants in her ears because of her fancy for snacks. Recently her ears started itching and when her family members said they had seen ants climbing out of her ears she rushed to see a doctor. The doctor found that there were about six ants in the girl’s left ear, and more than 20 in her right ear. Fortunately the ants had not caused any harm to the girl’s eardrum.  More

Mom Sentenced to Life, Put Baby in Microwave

Ohio - After deliberating for six hours over the course of two days, an Ohio jury recommended life in prison without parole for a mother convicted of killing her month-old baby in a microwave. The jury, which had found her guilty of aggravated murder a week earlier, spared 31-year-old China Arnold from the death penalty in her third trial for daughter Paris Talley’s 2005 death. In an effort to avoid a death sentence, the defense told the jury that Arnold was very drunk at the time of the killing and that she had no prior criminal history. Arnold was accused of putting her baby in a microwave and turning it on after a fight with her boyfriend in August 2005. Medical experts testified at the trial that the girl was likely in the microwave for more than two minutes. “She was cooked,” one former medical examiner testified.  More

ATM repairman swapped out fake bills for real cash

 Redwood City, California - It was en elaborate heist that nearly paid off, big time. An ATM repairman swapped out fake bills for real cash getting away with $200,000. The phony $20 bills coming out of some Bank of America automated bank machines didn’t fool anyone. They were printed on a photocopier and stuffed into the ATM by a serviceman, who took the real money and fled.  He went into seven of these machines, took the cash out and replaced it with counterfeit, and not sophisticated, just simply taking some bills, placing them on the Xerox machine, cut them up and put them in its place in the machines. The real money, $200,000, was on its way out of town, along with 64-year-old service man Samuel Kioskli who was arrested in Phoenix.  More

Mailman craps in yard, keeps job

Portland, Oregon - A mail carrier who was caught using a yard as his personal toilet will not be fired. The incident happened last month at a home in southeast Portland and a neighbor, Don Derfler, captured the man in the act with his camera. Derfler had been waiting for his babysitter when he saw his mailman acting odd at his neighbor’s house across the street. The postal worker then pulled down his pants and that’s when Derfler began snapping pictures. The incident was an embarrassment to the post office and the worker was immediately placed on unpaid leave. Now, a decision has been made to keep the worker but he will be transferred to a different route.  More

Man spends 9 years building plane in basement

Carlisle, Pennsylvania - A Pennsylvania man said he knocked out a wall at his home to remove the small plane he spent nine years constructing in his basement. Dan Reeves of Lower Allen Township said he and three friends dismantled the basement wall to remove the Vans RV7, A low-wing two-seater from the home after his other ideas for its removal proved impractical. “I thought of different ways to get it out,” he said. “I thought about going through the floor, building a glass floor so instead of a coffee table sitting here you could see the airplane project sitting in the basement. My wife wouldn’t have anything to do with that though.” More

Truck driver blows up 'like a balloon'

WHAKATANE, New Zealand, May 26 (UPI) -- A New Zealand truck driver said he is "lucky to be alive" after an air hose became lodged in his buttocks and blew him up "like a balloon."Truck driver blows up 'like a balloon'

Severed head of genital disease saint for sale

Ireland - A decapitated head, said to be that of St Vitalis of Assisi, the patron saint of genital diseases, will be sold at an auction in Co Meath. The macabre object, which is housed in a Queen Anne case, is being sold by an Anglo-Irish family based in Co Louth. Saint Vitalis of Assisi (there are a number of saints with the name Vitalis) was an Italian hermit and monk who died in 1370. He became a saint despite an early life marked by licentiousness and immorality. However, in an attempt to atone he went on pilgrimages to various sanctuaries.  More

Mom left 9-month-old at home, goes bowling

Pensacola, Florida - A 20-year-old Pensacola woman stands accused of leaving her 9-month-old son home alone while on a date at a local bowling alley. Leah June Rabon was arrested night and charged with cruelty towards a child and child neglect, after deputies found that she had left her child unattended at her apartment for more than 2 hours. Once Rabon returned to her residence she was arrested, telling deputies that she had left her son to go on a date and had been away for about 2 hours.  More

Panhandling Dog at Yankee Stadium

New York - An animal welfare group is investigating the treatment of a panhandling dog often seen holding a pipe in its mouth for hours outside New York City’s professional baseball stadiums. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it sent investigators to Yankee Stadium to look into allegations by some baseball fans who say the dog named Coffee is being abused by its owner. But the ASPCA said it was unable to locate the dog or its owner.  More

If there is no football, crime will increase

Baltimore, Maryland - Ravens star Ray Lewis issues a stern warning. He says if there is no football, crime will increase across the country. Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is known for speaking his mind and that’s exactly what he did when ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio asked Lewis about the NFL lockout. “We really gotta remove pride, seriously. There’s no other reason the issue’s going on,” he said. Perhaps his most controversial statement was about the possibility of no NFL season. Lewis painted a grim picture across America of people without jobs and nothing to do on Sundays. “Do this research. If we don’t have a season, watch how much evil, which we call it crime, watch how much crime picks up when you take away our game,” he said.  More

Casino staff forced to wear flea collars

New Zealand - Workers at a casino in New Zealand’s largest city have been forced to wear flea collars to work in a bid to ward off fleas. The alarming report follows news of similar infestations forcing nurses at some Auckland hospitals to adopt a similar course of action sparking a warning from health authorities against humans wearing the pet collars, which emit toxins. Employees at SkyCity Casino were spraying themselves with insect repellent and wearing pet flea collars around their ankles to ward off fleas.  More

Woman beaten for penis size joke

Kfar Saba  - A Kfar Saba woman was badly beaten by her 23-year-old boyfriend after ridiculing his penis size in front of his friends. The suspect has been detained but denies the charges against him. The young woman arrived at Kfar Saba’s Meir Hospital bruised and in pain. She was also having trouble walking and standing up. Based on the bruises on her body, doctors at the medical facility concluded that the woman was assaulted and reported the case to police. After being questioned by police officers, the woman told them she met her boyfriend several weeks ago. She said that he was infuriated after she made fun of his penis size, arrived at her home and assaulted her.  More

Priest set on fire by man during mass

Lithuania - Father Remigijus Kuprys, 46, managed to extinguish the flames with the help of worshippers, but suffered facial burns. The attack occurred during the service in the central Lithuanian town of Jonava, when a 42-year-old local resident sprayed Kuprys with the flammable liquid and set it ablaze with a cigarette lighter. ”We have reports that he had repeatedly disrupted masses and shouted weird statements. Investigators are deciding on psychiatric tests,” officer Mindaugas Juknys said today. The suspect did not resist arrest when police arrived at the church. If considered mentally fit to stand trial, he risks up to 10 years in jail for the assault.  More

TSA holds drill, doesn’t tell police

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport - It was a drill, but the trouble was no one had told the cops, who thought it was real. “I think a lot of people were alarmed,” Patrick Hogan, spokesman for the Metropolitan Airport Commission, said. “There is always a danger that someone could have gotten hurt. It was unfortunate.” The routine drill conducted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) began when a man with a fake bomb in his bag attempted to get through the security at checkpoint 2, which is near the United, American and U.S. Airways airlines ticketing counters, Hogan said. The screener identified what looked to be an explosive device and immediately notified authorities.  More  

Woman Hit By Flying Pressure Cooker

Miami, Florida - A 79-year-old woman’s leg was severed when her pressure cooker fell off her stove and exploded, according to Miami Fire Rescue. Fire officials said the woman was cooking in her home when the pressure cooker fell to the floor. The woman’s leg was severed below the knee, officials said. A family member put a tourniquet on the woman’s leg to slow the bleeding. Carroll said that if the woman had been alone, she likely would have bled to death. Rescuers arrived to find the woman on the floor with food everywhere.  More

Woman is allergic to electricity

 UK - Janice Tunnicliffe spends every night playing Scrabble by candlelight with her husband because she claims to have a rare condition called electrosensitivity. She cannot bear to be anywhere near electromagnetic fields of any kind and, as a result, she cannot watch television, listen to the radio or talk on a mobile phone and has been left completely isolated from the modern world by her condition. Mrs Tunnicliffe, 55, was struck down with the illness after receiving chemotherapy for bowel cancer three years ago. Since then she has suffered constant headaches, chest pains, nausea and tingling in her arms and legs whenever she is near electrical devices or items that emit a signal.  More

Woman landed on garage roof after crash

Two Rivers - Alcohol was a factor in the accident. Lavin was traveling northbound on Memorial Drive at a high rate of speed and swerving in and out of traffic when she lost control of her car. Witnesses said her vehicle struck the median, went airborne, crossed the southbound lane and then rolled four times before landing in the front yard of a home. Lavin was thrown from the car, likely through a back window that was already broken, flew through the branches of a pine tree and landed on thegarage roof of the home. Lavin climbed off the roof, with help from bystanders, and tried walking away from the scene.  More

Sleeping bandit in bed with man’s mother

 Bowling Green - When Bowling Green police caught up to an alleged sleeping bandit, in addition to drugs, they found a treasure trove of goodies in the man’s pockets - including several disposable razors, a bottle of Drakkar Noir cologne, a bottle of Adidas cologne, skin cleanser and two pickled sausages. Barking dogs alerted a man who lives in the 1200 block of Kenton Street early that evening to a man who had broken into his home and climbed into bed with the resident’s mother. The home’s occupant called police when he found an unknown, extremely drunk man in bed with his mother. More

Man attacked by rabid fox while playing golf

North Carolina - A 76-year-old Hickory man has begun rabies treatments after he was attacked by a rabid fox while play golf in Caldwell County. The man was playing golf with friends at the Granada Farms Country Club Golf Course in Granite Falls. The fox came out of the woods and attacked the man, biting him on the bottom part of his leg. The men playing golf with the man began beating the fox with their golf clubs. Caldwell County Animal Control says the animal was killed by the men. The fox was sent for testing and results came back positive for rabies.  More

Headless Body, Chainsaw Found Near House

Houston - Police who found a man’s dismembered body outside a vacant house, with the head and an arm stuffed into a trash bag and the rest of his remains in a backyard next door, arrested his best friend for murder. Neighbors and family members say the two men had been best friends for years and a possible argument over money might have led to the slaying. The body of Marlon Thomas, 35, was found in the backyard of a fenced, burned home in Houston’s Fifth Ward, a historically black neighborhood east of downtown. Police said Thomas’ friend, Noe Morin, 32, who lived in an apartment in the home next door, killed him. They took Morin into custody and charged him.  More 

Once-exotic bird turns into a notorious pest

Stanwell, England - Native to the Indian subcontinent and sub-Saharan Africa, the rose-ringed parakeet is enjoying a population explosion in many London suburbs, turning a once-exotic bird into a notorious pest that awakens children, monopolizes garden bird feeders and might even threaten British crops. One rough estimate put the population in Britan at 30,000 a few years ago, up from only 1,500 in 1995. Researchers at Imperial College London are now trying a more scientific census through its Project Parakeet, which enlisted volunteer birders around the country for simultaneous counts on a recent evening.  More

Naked Burglar Caught Pretending To Be Asleep

Pennsylvania - Police said they found a 20-year-old Penn State student naked, hiding under the covers, pretending to be asleep in a bedroom. Police received a 911 called at 3:43 a.m. when a resident reported that a person was banging on the front door of her home. While officers were checking this dwelling and the immediate area for intruders, a subject approached the officers and advised that there was an intruder in the house next door. Searching officers located a white male, naked in a bedroom, hiding under the covers pretending to be asleep. Police arrested the man. He is identified as David Darr, a 20-year-old York resident who is a student at Penn State. Darr was taken into custody and booked. He is charged with burglary, criminal trespass and loitering and prowling at night.  More  

Man found living with girlfriend’s body

Kansas - Police in Wichita say a 57-year-old man lived with the body of his dead fiancee for several days praying she would be brought back to life. Calls from neighbors concerned about the woman’s welfare sent police to the home the couple shared. Officers said the man didn’t want to let the officers in. He was detained after they smelled a strong odor.The man told officers he was praying for divine intervention to bring his fiancee back to life.  More

Pig escapes from minivan, is tasered, then shot

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash.  — A Washington State Patrol trooper shot and killed a runaway 500-pound pig after the officer's stun gun failed to slow the ...Pig escapes from minivan, is tasered, then shot

Man cuts three people who woke him

Montana - A Great Falls man was arrested after he allegedly used a kitchen knife to cut three people who woke him up. Bostwick was asleep on the living room floor of a residence when three people - Jimi Brown, April Booker and Ruben Stump - came in and woke him up at about 2 a.m. Bostwick, who was very intoxicated began yelling at Brown and Stump. He then grabbed a knife from the kitchen and started slashing at the two men. Booker, who was in the bathroom, came out to see what was going on, at which time Bostwick allegedly began slashing at her. Police found Booker hiding under a blanket in a bedroom in the apartment. Brown, Stump and Booker all had been cut on their faces. More

Students fly human-powered helicopter

BALTIMORE, May 13 (UPI) -- Students at the University of Maryland are claiming a world record after their human-powered Gamera helicopter rose above a gymnasium floor.Students fly human-powered helicopter

Blind man gets mystery enema

California - The 53-year-old Californian man answered the door to a woman who claimed she was there to give him an enema. As the man had recently undergone intestinal surgery, he assumed the visit was part of his rehabilitation and allowed the woman into his home to perform the procedure. A day later, the man began wondering about his experience and contacted the Sonoma Police Department to report the incident. The investigating officer contacted the man’s doctor and was told that an enema had not been prescribed, ordered or approved.  More

Boy survives tornado in clothes dryer

Lenox, Iowa - Austin Miller was home watching PBS Kids when the panicked phone call came from his mother. Get in the laundry room, now, she said. There are tornadoes coming. The 11-year-old rode out the storm inside the clothes dryer as the twister demolished the second floor above him, the roof collapsed and debris swirled about. If he wouldn’t have been in that laundry room, it would have come right down on him.  More

Man airlifted after fight with housecat

Cleveland, Texas - A Cleveland man was attacked by a housecat and the man’s injuries are so severe that he had to be taken by air ambulance to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. The altercation between the man and the animal occurred at a home on CR 3182 a few miles south of Cleveland in Liberty County. At some point during the attack, the man and the cat reportedly were injured by a knife the man was holding. The man was taken to Cleveland Regional Medical Center before being transported to Houston.  More

Victim beats up carjacker, drives away

Orlando, Florida - Police said a would-be carjacker was beaten and left lying in an Orlando parking lot when he picked on the wrong victim. Lt. Arnold Alvarez said a witness called police reporting that a man was approached by the suspect in a lot near Millenia Boulevard and West Oak Ridge Road. The suspect, later identified as 54-year-old Richard J. McCandles, demanded that the driver hand over his keys, police said. After beating McCandles up, the driver got into his car and drove off, Alvarez said. Officers said they arrived to find the McCandles lying on the ground. More 

Woman carrying a gun, wearing panties outside her pants

New York - A woman carrying a gun and wearing pink panties outside her pants set off a security scare at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, hotel officials said. Marilyn Michose, 46, of Danbury, Conn., was wandering around the lobby just after 9 a.m. speaking “gobbledygook,” a hotel maid said, just before a security guard spotted a .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol poking out of her pocket. After security chased her into an empty bar where she surrendered and gave up the unloaded weapon.  More 

354 couples wed at once

Bolivia - A total of 354 couples got married at once at a coliseum in La Paz, Bolivia, with President Evo Morales playing the role of best man, officials said. The mass marriage event, called Marriage From Our Collective Identity and organized by the Ministry of Decolonization, was conducted according to the Andean region’s aymara native traditions, El Diario reported. After the wedding, people took to the streets with bows and flowers.  More

Woman Wakes Up With Transylvanian Accent

Oregon - An Oregon woman who underwent anesthesia for oral surgery woke up to find she looked the same, but sounded very different - she had developed foreign accent syndrome. Karen Butler, who lives in Butler, Ore., said sounded like she was from Transylvania, and it softened a little over time - but she still has not recovered her original Northwestern tone. Doctors diagnosed Butler with foreign accent syndrome, a neurological condition that has only been documented 60 times in the last 100 years.  More…

Woman Bites Boyfriend’s Lip Off

 Las Cruces, New Mexico - Police arrested a woman who allegedly bit off the lower lip of her boyfriend during a heated argument, according to police officials. Aurelia Lorena Reyes, 26, is charged with one count of aggravated battery against a household member causing great bodily injury, a third-degree felony. Reyes was arrested and is being held on a $10,000 bond at the Dona Ana County Detention Center . Las Cruces Police detectives said that Reyes got into a heated argument with her boyfriend and was told to leave the premises. At some point during the dispute Reyes grabbed her boyfriend’s head and bit off his lower lip. The victim’s lower lip landed on the pavement.  More

Boy steals man’s car while man was having a heart attack

Pittsburgh - Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy accused of robbing an usher who worked at the baseball stadium where the Pittsburgh Pirates play after he stopped his car while having a heart attack on his way home from an extra-inning game. Police aren’t identifying the suspect because of his age. They said he approached the car and pulled out 58-year-old driver Michael Schacht, who had been slumped over and in distress. They say he stole the man’s wallet and drove off in his car, leaving him on the ground. The suspect doesn’t qualify to be charged as an adult. He’s being taken to a juvenile detention facility.  More…

Wife Sues Husband For Depriving Her Of Sex

Dubai - An Emirati man was being sued for 45 million dirhams ($12.25 million) for not having sex with his wife, who claimed that his failure to perform caused her mental anguish, a court heard. Court records filed by the woman allege that her husband, who she is now divorced from, failed to fulfil her needs. “Considering the conservative Arab values and the woman’s situation in such a society, I remained silent and tried to adapt by praying to God that things would improve,” she said.  More…

Shipowners take up arms to fight pirates

Poole, England - Upstairs in a public house on the English south coast, 18 men are preparing to take on the pirates of the Indian Ocean. They sit in attentive silence as teachers in jeans and T-shirts discuss pirate tactics and the hazards of the law. Almost to a man, the students — their haircuts short, their arms muscled and tattooed — have military experience: some on well-paid, dangerous private security contracts in Iraq or Afghanistan. It almost feels as if history is repeating itself. The Blue Boar pub is in a building that dates back to the 18th century when privately owned vessels were armed like warships, equipped to fight off pirate attacks and privateers far from naval help. Now, it seems, one ocean at least is becoming lawless again.  More 

Workers must sign pledges, no suicides

 China - Factories making sought-after Apple iPads and iPhones in China are forcing staff to sign pledges not to commit suicide, an investigation has revealed. At least 14 workers at Foxconn factories in China have killed themselves in the last 16 months as a result of horrendous working conditions. Many more are believed to have either survived attempts or been stopped before trying at the Apple supplier’s plants in Chengdu or Shenzen. After a spate of suicides last year, managers at the factories ordered new staff to sign pledges that they would not attempt to kill themselves. And they were made to promise that if they did, their families would only seek the legal minimum in damages.  More

Woman gets chainsaw embedded in her

 Oak Lawn, Illinois - Teresa Salcich, a mother of four, was helping her parents around the house when she decided to grab her dad’s chainsaw and trim some tree branches. She’d read on the internet how to use it, and she thought she was being extra careful by wearing goggles. “I didn’t realize how quick a chainsaw cuts,” she said. “The next thing I knew there was a sea of green. The branch kicked back because it was caught on a vine, and I did not see it. I looked over and I thought the 14-inch blade was caught in my shirt.” It was actually embedded in her side. Salich was rushed to the only level-one trauma center serving the south suburban area: Advocate Christ. “The first thing I said, ‘Is she stable?’ He said yes. The second thing I said is, ‘Don’t pull it out.’ And the third thing I said is, ‘Get her to me as fast as you can,’” said Dr. Salzman. “They have never done a chapter in any of the textbooks I’ve read on how to remove a chainsaw correctly, so a lot of the stuff we do is on the fly and we sort of make it up as we go along.  More

Baby delivered at DUI checkpoint

Plainville, Connecticut - Plainville police had an unusual situation at their DUI checkpoint when a woman went into labor. Officers were conducting a DUI checkpoint on Route 177 that required every car stop at the checkpoint and be briefly interviewed. However, as Mr. and Mrs. Trevor Hairston approached the checkpoint police were told that Mrs. Hairston was in labor, and she believed she was about to deliver. An ambulance was requested, but police were told that the response time was at least ten minutes out. Police entered the car and found that birth was literally minutes away. Two other officers prepared medical equipment, handing it into the vehicle, as the officers inside prepared to deliver the baby on scene. At exactly 1:00am, Christian Hairston, 5lbs 7oz, and 18 inches long entered the world.  More 

Group of deaf friends stabbed for using sign language

 Hallendale Beach, Florida - A group of deaf friends were stabbed at a bar in Florida after a woman mistook their sign language for gang signs.Alfred Stewart, 31, was partying at the Ocean’s Eleven Lounge in Hallendale Beach, Fla., with some friends who were also deaf when the group’s signing caught the eye of gang-banger Barbara Lee (Picture). The 45-year-old Lee though the group was throwing gang signs at her, and responded by flashing gang signs back at them, cops said. The group motioned for her to leave them alone. Eventually, Lee left the bar but returned with two members of her crew, 19-year-old Marco Ibanez (Picture) and a 17-year-old who was not identified, cops said.  More  

Man ran over baby ducks purpose

Odd news-Ann Arbor, Michigan - Authorities say a 19-year-old man deliberately ran over a group of ducklings with a Hummer in an Ann Arbor McDonald’s parking lot after employees told his passenger to leave the birds alone. The attorney for Dillon Pearce of Ann Arbor says his client was actually trying to help rescue the ducklings as they dodged cars in the busy parking lot. Pearce now faces a charge of killing/torturing animals, a four-year felony. The mother duck and four to eight ducklings were nesting under a bush at the McDonald’s when a passenger in Pearce’s Hummer tried to pick one up, and the employees yelled at them to leave them alone.  More 

Homeless man robs bank, gives money away

 odd News-Tampa, Florida - Authorities say a homeless man robbed a Tampa bank, fled on a city bus and handed out stolen cash to passengers. Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies say 27-year-old Elmer McGuirt handed a note demanding money to a Wachovia Bank teller. Witnesses told deputies he then got on the bus and started handing out money, keeping some of the cash for himself. McQuirt now faces robbery charges. He is in the Hillsborough County Jail.  More  

Good son mowed parent’s lawn, arrested

 Easy Lyme, Connecticut - A man is facing charges for stealing a lawnmower from a school in East Lyme. Police say 22-year old Nikolaus Trombley was caught on tape, stealing the lawnmower from East Lyme High School. Police say he stole it in the middle of the night and then took it for a ride. Police say Trombley rode the three miles to his parent’s house, mowed their lawn and was on his way to return the mower when he abandoned it near the intersection of Boston Post Road and Spring Rock Road. He’s charged with third degree larceny and burglary. He is now living in his parent’s East Lyme home.  More