Strange Stuff: Weird Crimes, Crazy Laws, and Other Interesting News Stories - Page 176

Jan 31, 2013 1:57 PM CST

Internet Saves This 'Gay' Dog

Facebook campaign goes viral, prevents euthanasia

(Newser) - The Internet came together to save a dog after his owner dumped him at a Tennessee shelter ... because he thought the dog was gay. A picture of the bulldog, who was in danger of being euthanized, was posted to Facebook in an attempt to find an adopter. "He hunched...

Homeland Security Tip:
Fend Off Shooter
With Scissors

Jan 31, 2013 8:21 AM CST

Homeland Security Tip: Fend Off Shooter With Scissors

Video provides advice on protection in a mass shooting

(Newser) - The Department of Homeland Security has released a video advising Americans on how to deal with a mass shooting—and some of its tips have the New York Post scratching its head. For instance, the video suggests that "if you are caught out in the open and cannot conceal...

Artist Hides
$12K Check
in Gallery

Jan 30, 2013 10:29 AM CST

Artist Hides $12K Check in Gallery

Find it, and reap the riches

(Newser) - This is one way to fund the arts. A British artist has hidden a check in the amount of about $12,600 in an art gallery in the town of Milton Keynes, with the "To" line blank. Find it by March 1, and your name will be inserted, reports...

Giant Sinkhole
Eats Buildings
in China

Jan 30, 2013 9:30 AM CST

Giant Sinkhole Eats Buildings in China

No injuries, but deep hole is still growing

(Newser) - This brings new meaning to the phrase "shop 'til you drop." Five stores and one building were swallowed by a giant sinkhole in Guangzhou, China, yesterday, and the collapse was caught on video, reports the Christian Science Monitor . All of the approximately 300 people inside were evacuated...

America's Most Fascinating Nickel Set to Fetch Millions

Jan 29, 2013 3:44 PM CST

America's Most Fascinating Nickel Set to Fetch Millions

Liberty Head was illegally cast, deemed fake. Now it's for sale

(Newser) - A humble five-cent coin with a storied past is headed to auction a century after it was mysteriously minted, and bidding is expected to top $2 million. The 1913 Liberty Head nickel is one of only five known to exist, but it's the coin's back story that adds...

Man Murdered After GPS Takes Him to Wrong House

Jan 29, 2013 9:31 AM CST

Man Murdered After GPS Takes Him to Wrong House

Phillip Walker Sailors thought it was a home invasion: lawyer

(Newser) - There are wacky GPS mistakes and then there are tragic ones. A Georgia man died after being shot in the head Saturday night after his GPS reportedly directed him to the wrong house. WSBTV reports that Rodrigo Abad Diaz, 22, was driving three passengers to a friend's house, where...

DA: Ex-49er Beat Up Ex-Boyfriend Over Underwear

DA: Ex-49er
Savagely Beat Ex-Boyfriend Over Underwear

Jan 29, 2013 1:50 AM CST

DA: Ex-49er Savagely Beat Ex-Boyfriend Over Underwear

Kwame Harris charged with domestic violence

(Newser) - Former 49ers and Raiders offensive lineman Kwame Harris appears to have been outed as gay in spectacularly bad fashion, Deadspin reports. Harris has been charged with domestic violence and assault after allegedly beating up an ex-boyfriend in a dispute that started over food and ending up with Harris giving the...

Manholes Spout Fire
in Downtown Omaha

Jan 28, 2013 7:03 PM CST

Manholes Spout Fire in Downtown Omaha

Electrical fire causes underground explosions

(Newser) - Talk about pyrotechnics: Several manhole covers in downtown Omaha popped their lids and spouted fire last night after an electrical blaze caused underground explosions, Gawker reports. What's more, a local resident somehow snapped a photo of the moment. Omaha public workers were still trying to restore power downtown this...

Boy Survives 9 Weeks in Wild; Has Leeches All Over

Jan 28, 2013 6:37 PM CST

Boy Survives 9 Weeks in Wild; Has Leeches All Over

Matthew Allen, 18, had gangrene when hikers found him

(Newser) - An Australian teenager who wanted to "run away from his life" survived nearly 9 weeks in the bush near Sydney before being discovered by hikers, Perth Now reports. Matthew Allen, 18, was highly disoriented, partly blinded, covered in leeches, and suffering from gangrene when first responders winched him to...

North Koreans
Eating Their
Own Kids:
Reports

Jan 28, 2013 5:05 PM CST

North Koreans Eating Their Own Kids: Reports

Cannibalism on the rise amid food shortage, informants say

(Newser) - Rumors of cannibalism are emerging from North Korea during a food shortage that may have killed 10,000 people last year, Global Post reports. In one gruesome tale, authorities allegedly executed a father for killing and eating two of his kids: "While his wife was away on business he...

Woman Shoots Ex
Off Hood of Her Car

Jan 28, 2013 2:52 PM CST

Woman Shoots Ex Off Hood of Her Car

...where he'd clung angrily for 10 miles

(Newser) - What a way to end it: A Florida woman fatally shot the father of her three children after he had clung to the hood of her car for 10 miles, the Sun-Sentinel reports. Nikki McNeil, 33, reportedly got into a dispute with her ex, 36-year-old Lamar Tucker, when she dropped...

Guy Starts Robbery, Changes Mind, Gets Free Pizza

He breaks down, says family is hungry

(Newser) - A man who apparently summoned the courage to rob a Montana pizzeria changed his mind as the clerk started to hand him money, broke down crying, and ended up leaving with a pizza to feed his hungry family. Just after midnight one night this week, a man wearing a hooded...

Iran Rolls Out
'Finger-Chopping Machine'

Jan 27, 2013 5:54 PM CST

Iran Rolls Out 'Finger-Chopping Machine'

New device an attempt to quell protest: activist

(Newser) - After publicly hanging two muggers , Iran has released photos of an apparent finger-chopping machine used for punishing criminals. The four images show a convicted robber and adulterer losing a finger before he is sentenced to 99 lashes and three years in prison, according to state media. But he shows no...

School Cans Guy Over
Moose-Butchering Fantasy

School Cans Guy Over Moose-Butchering Fantasy

John DeWind claims he was just trying to be funny. He failed.

(Newser) - This may just be the weirdest story of the week: A Columbia University-trained educator was booted from his volunteer gig at a Brooklyn school because he emailed a female teacher ... about butchering a moose. John DeWind, 64, tells DNAinfo.com he was just trying to show the teacher an example...

Irish County:
Drinking and Driving
OK on Rural Roads

Irish County: Drinking and Driving OK on Rural Roads

By coincidence, Kerry politician who introduced measure is a pub owner

(Newser) - Ireland's scenic County Kerry wants police to lighten up on this drinking-and-driving thing. The Kerry council backed a measure this week to allow people in rural areas to be able to knock back "two or three" pints at the local pub and drive home worry-free, reports the Guardian...

iPhone Stolen
—From Guy
Who Just
Stole It

Jan 26, 2013 3:44 PM CST

iPhone Stolen —From Guy Who Just Stole It

'Apple picking' amounts to 14% of NYC crime

(Newser) - How rampant is 'Apple-picking'—iPhone and iPad theft—in New York City? Well, last year saw 16,000 thefts, or 14% of total city crimes. Consider a case related by the New York Times , in which the same phone was stolen twice in an afternoon. A teenage girl...

New Zealand in Uproar Over Quest to Eradicate Cats

Gareth Morgan dreams of a country where birds can flourish

(Newser) - Gareth Morgan is not a cat lover—and a great many New Zealanders apparently aren't a Gareth-Morgan lover. The AP reports on the environmentalist's quest to make the country a haven for native birds by getting rid of cats, and the outrage that has quickly followed. Morgan has...

10K Escaped Crocodiles
Still Roaming Free in S. Africa

Jan 25, 2013 2:19 PM CST

10K Escaped Crocodiles Still Roaming Free in S. Africa

Farm had to open gates amid flooding

(Newser) - Heavy rains in South Africa forced a farm along the Limpopo River to release its animals to save them from floodwaters. But in this case, those animals happened to be crocodiles—15,000 of them, reports Reuters . Police have joined other farmers and hunters in tracking down the escaped crocs,...

Aussie Winery Pulls Out
of NRA's ... Wine Club?

Jan 25, 2013 2:00 PM CST

Aussie Winery Pulls Out of NRA's ... Wine Club?

You can find a nice Merlot and 'defend basic freedoms' at same time

(Newser) - Who knew? The NRA has a wine club, a revelation that surfaced this week when an Australian winery discovered to its dismay that its bottles were sold there, reports the Herald Sun . The owners of Yalumbu say they have no idea how that came to be and promise to get...

Tourist Jailed in NYC
When He Can't Pay Bill

Jan 25, 2013 1:24 PM CST

Tourist Jailed in NYC When He Can't Pay Bill

Italian lawyer says he forgot wallet, but restaurant is unforgiving

(Newser) - An Italian lawyer spent Monday night in a New York City jail because he didn't have his wallet when his $208 bill arrived at a swanky steak restaurant. Both the New York Post ("Mama Mia!") and the Daily News ("Crime Rib") love the tale....

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