Allergy Wrecks California Used Truck and Car Lot

Sneezing fit to blame in crash at Calif. dealership

Published - Nov 29 2012 08:51PM EST

Associated Press

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. (AP) — The California Highway Patrol says a sneezing fit caused a truck driver to crash into nearly a dozen vehicles at a San Francisco Bay-area auto dealership.

CHP officials say Antonio Zamora of Modesto was driving 30 to 35 mph around 4:40 a.m. Thursday when he experienced the sneezing attack that caused the collision at the used car lot in San Leandro.

Officer Daniel Jacowitz says no one was injured, but 10 cars and trucks were damaged.

Jacowitz says the 42-year-old Zamora wasn't cited, and investigators don't believe drugs or alcohol were involved.

The simple things we forget

Man forgets to let go of bungee cord | Weird | News | Calgary Sun

Famous Penis in Plaster

The editors of Bizarre Stuff don't know if "Cynthia" is still around.  But if you ask around the art crowd in Chelsea, Soho, Noho, and Tribecka someone has to know where she can be found.

Jimi Hendrix
(Singer / Guitarist -
Jimi Hendrix Experience)
February 25, 1968

Cynthia's Casting Serial
#00004

item
#0001

description:
The Godfather of Whopper Choppers in my collection! Because this was one of my first shots at plaster casting, the end result came out kind of gnarly. I prematurely cracked the mold open, only to find a still-moist, broken cast inside. So yes, Jimi did in fact, break the mold! But thanks to Elmer's Glue, I managed to reconnect the head to the shaft to the testicles. Very statuesque and antique-looking; like Grecian art. The Canadian underground paper Georgia Straight called it the "Penis de Milo." There's no denying that Jimi towers over most of my collection. His long, thick shaft combined with his disproportionately small head brings a shudder to the spinal cord!
memories:
Jimi's pubes got stuck in the mold because I didn't lube them enough. I spent the next 15 minutes pulling out each individual hair one by one, while he had intercourse with just the right sized repository — his negative impression! This unexpected delay made him late for his show that evening, where he was seen scratching his crotch a lot onstage.

in an edition of 30: signed and #'d by Cynthia limited numbers still available upon request	length of cast: 5 7/8"
width of base: 3 5/8"	circumference of shaft: 6 1/4"
materials: plaster	price: $2,500.00

Toilet Paper Loss Mystery Solved

This Nov. 28, 2012 photo provided by Eastern New Mexico University shows a case of toilet paper that was sent anonymously by a New Mexico college graduate to his alma mater, Eastern New Mexico University.  The university said Wednesday that it received a box of toilet paper this week along with a Christmas card and written apology note by a former student who admitted stealing toilet paper for a prank. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Eastern New Mexico University.)

The university Vice Provost and former sheriff's deputy, vowed to track down the student and have him or her charged with a crime.  "First it's just a roll of toilet tissue, then furniture, and then it escalates to a university building.  We can't afford to lose any of our buildings."

Sexiest Man Alive?

Somewhere in the Far East  (Mysterious)
Nov. 28, 2012


BEIJING (AP) — The online version of China's Communist Party newspaper has hailed a report by The Onion naming North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as the "Sexiest Man Alive" — apparently unaware it is satire.
The People's Daily ran a 55-page photo spread on its website Tuesday in a tribute to the moon-faced leader, under the headline "North Korea's top leader named The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive for 2012."
Quoting The Onion's spoof report, the Chinese newspaper wrote, "With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman's dream come true."

"Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper's editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile," the People's Daily cited The Onion as saying.
The photos the People's Daily selected include Kim on horseback squinting into the light and Kim waving toward a military parade. In other photos, he is wearing sunglasses and smiling, or touring a facility with his wife.

An online editor for the People's Daily said Wednesday that the photo spread would be taken offline.
"We have realized it is satirical," said the editor who works on the site's South Korea channel, one of the three channels where it was posted. He refused to give his name. When asked whether editors knew the Onion piece was satirical when the People's Daily item was first posted, he declined to clarify, but added that they picked up the news after first seeing it on China's state-run Guangming Daily website.
He said that he hoped the incident wouldn't draw too much attention.


Once the Chinese major news outlet fell for the satirical article in the U.S. magazine, The Onion, that named North Korea's chubby, baby-faced dictator, Kim Jong un, as the "sexiest man alive," The North Korean press immediately picked up the story and ran a major, multi-paged article extolling the manly virtues and overall good looks of the pudgy, moon-faced Kim, also unaware of the satirical nature of the Onion spoof.  Kim Jong un's equally un glamorous wife, Ri Sol Ju (plus or minus 30 pounds) is shown accompanying him on a state visit to a people's pleasure park.

BizarreStuff is conducting its own independent poll to find out how many of our readers agree that Kim Jong un is the "sexiest man alive?"  You can answer 'yes' or 'no' as an anonymous commentator at the end of the story.

Thanks for your participation.

The Editor

BizarreStuff

Drop-In Cleaning Service - No Appointment Required

Ohio's 'cleaning fairy' gets 1 year of probation

Nov 26 2012 

CLEVELAND (AP) — An Ohio woman dubbed the "cleaning fairy" after she broke into a home, cleaned it and left a $75 bill has been put on probation for one year.

A judge sentenced 53-year-old Susan Warren of Elyria (eh-LEER'-ee-uh) on Monday in Cleveland on her guilty plea to attempted burglary. She also must do 20 hours of community service. (cleaning houses?)

The woman told authorities she was driving by the Westlake house and "wanted something to do." She broke in, washed some coffee cups, took out the trash, vacuumed and dusted inside the house. Then she left a bill written on a napkin and included her phone number.

Warren says she owns a cleaning business and sometimes enters homes, cleans them and leaves a bill.

Odd Bodies

At what point do you become too big? At what point do you become an oddity, deformed not by genetics but because of your own choice?  People look at you as if you were not real. Unfortunately there is a fine line between a ripped Arnold (from the 70′s) body and becoming obsessed. These are the dudes who took it that extra step. Read more at http://regretfulmorning.com/2012/09/insane-body-builders-8-pics/#D3RVH7zHDKZLshsL.99 

Not to be outdone are the women who strive for the "wasp waist" look.  A waist trained to be 15" (her actual waist size) by always wearing a tight belt produces an odd look much like the dude with the super shoulders and chest.

The UnVatican  11/26/2012
Italy

A spokesperson for the Vatican who was unauthorized to speak said the recent decision to dispose of 2 tons of pigeon poop discovered in the open tower of a church in Germany is being reconsidered in light of the commercial value of the pigeons' deposits of poop for over a period of approximately 3 decades.

The guano, as it is known commercially, is excellent fertilizer.  However, the unauthorized spokesperson said a plan to package the poop in 4 ounce packages, to be sold by Vatican, Inc, would increase revenue from the sale of the guano by 20 times, once it had been officially blessed.  The issue is whether or not the Holy See would approve of such crass commercialism.  Holy Water is one thing: Holy Crap is something entirely different.

Sanitation and clean water can be more easily managed.  Bags of pigeon poop are more easily lost or discarded, or mistakenly thought to be marijuana and smoked by teenagers.

MOM PICKS WRONG STEPDAD

Teen accused of killing his stepfather with sword

Nov 26 2012 

JASPER, Ga. (AP) — Authorities in north Georgia say a 16-year-old boy is expected to make his first court appearance Monday after he was accused of killing his stepfather with a sword.
Pickens County sheriff's Lt. Kris Stancil says a relative of the teen called 911 Friday night to report the stabbing.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://bit.ly/RbN5tD ) reports that it happened at a home inside a gated community in the Jasper area. Jasper is about 60 miles northwest of Atlanta.
Deputies say they found 36-year-old Christopher Allen inside the home. Stancil said he was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, where he died during emergency surgery.
Pickens County Sheriff Donnie Griggs says investigators believe the teen stabbed his stepfather with a Samurai-style sword following an argument.

Not the actual sword.

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REACTIONS:

Poopville, California

SAN DIEGO — Come here for the sights. (There is not a more majestic spot to watch the sun set over the Pacific.) Or come for the sounds. (The waves crash against the rocks, and the sea lions bark at one another on the bluffs.)

Multimedia

Slide Show

With Droppings a Problem, La Jolla Cove Fears for Business

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Sam Hodgson for The New York Times

Hagan Smith, 5, and Hyrum Brinton, 4, tried to block the smell last week in La Jolla Cove, a postcard-worthy neighborhood of San Diego, except for the bird feces. More Photos »

Enlarge This Image

Sam Hodgson for The New York Times

Since the coastal rocks were closed off to people because of safety concerns, birds and sea lions have taken over. More Photos »

But don’t come for the odor.

“It’s so bad, it’s so bad,” said Neda Long, a tourist from Tennessee. “As soon as we pulled up, it was like, this is awful.”

In beautiful La Jolla Cove, art galleries and coffee shops meet a stretch of unspoiled cliffs and Pacific Ocean.Home to former presidential candidates (Mitt Romney has been spotted pumping his own gas here in recent days) and seal colonies alike, the neighborhood provides one of this city’s primary tourist draws.

But the smell, a pungent stench that emanates from the accumulation of bird feces on the rocks, has become a growing problem. And strict environmental regulations in the cove have stymied the city’s efforts to address the problem before it drives tourists and businesses away, effectively roping the rocks off with red tape.

“I’ve lived here my whole life, and the smell from the birds has never, ever been as bad as it is now,” said Megan Heine, the owner of Brockton Villa Restaurant, which overlooks the cove from a historic building that has been on the cliffs for more than 100 years. She said guests asked about the stench so frequently that her wait staff had become adept at explaining its cause.

“If nothing is done and the smell becomes unbearable, I’m fearful of what that will really do to the business and the appeal of being in La Jolla,” she said.

Until a few years ago, the smell was never a problem because the bluffs were open for people to walk on. But since the rocks were closed off, partly because of safety concerns, sea gulls and cormorants have taken over, their droppings have piled up and the smell has grown more acrid by the day.

In theory, a solution could be simple. Sherri Lightner, the local City Council member, said there were biodegradable and nontoxic cleaning agents that could be safely used to clean the bluffs occasionally without any ill effects to the environment.

However, because the waters in the cove are part of a coastal area specially protected by the state, multiple state regulatory agencies would have to issue permits before the agents could be used, a process that regulators have indicated would probably take at least two years.

“We tried to investigate this as an emergency request, but it hasn’t risen to the level of something like a hazardous spill, where they address it right away,” Ms. Lightner said. “We don’t get to have special regulations for bird poop.”

So this month, Ms. Lightner wrote a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown, hoping to expedite the process before the festering odor starts to take a heavier toll on businesses.

“La Jolla finds itself caught in a morass of state regulations — and it stinks. Literally,” Ms. Lightner wrote in the letter. “This issue has implications not just for La Jolla and San Diego but also for the State of California. Quite simply, it proves that California’s regulations make it an impossible place to do business.”

Just how bad the smell is is a matter of personal olfactory perception. Everyone agrees that it is worst in the hot summer months. Even on a cool November day, though, the smell was noticeable inside ocean-facing rooms at local hotels and half a mile inland in the commercial center.

To Ms. Lightner, it just smells like the ocean, but maybe a little “heightened.” Others pinch their noses as they walk by. The environmentalist who sells T-shirts here said customers never complained about it. But to local restaurant owners, it smells like a threat to their livelihoods.

Ms. Long from Tennessee, covering her nose with a scarf as she walked around the cove, said she would not eat at any of the restaurants right on the water or stay in the hotels there (and next time, she plans to park her car more strategically, away from the rocks where the birds and seals congregate).

But others were undaunted and considered the smell the price of admission for getting to see wildlife up close.

“It’s not so bad,” said Bella Blyumin, who was visiting from Cleveland with her husband and daughter. “You can kind of handle it. As long as you know it’s natural, you can appreciate it when you see the scenery.”

Some residents hope the cliffs will remain untouched, left to the birds and the seals, which will produce, well, the kinds of smells that birds and sea lions produce.

For the moment anyway, there seems to be little city officials can do except hope for winter rainstorms, which in years past have washed the rocks and alleviated some of the smell.

“We need to consider a range of alternatives for cleaning the rocks, and one of those could be no project, just sit and wait for rain,” said Kanani Brown, an analyst for the California Coastal Commission, one of the regulatory agencies. “I know that’s not ideal for local businesses, but that’s historically been the approach.”

Hey man,,,that's a 51" flat screen,,,toddler v. 51" flat screen?

Cops: Mass. bargain hunter took home TV, left toddler in parking lot

Nov 23 2012 

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Police say a Massachusetts man left his girlfriend's 2-year-old son in a car while he went shopping for Black Friday bargains, then went home with his new 51-inch flat screen television and left the toddler in the KMart parking lot.

Police, alerted by store security, found the boy asleep in the vehicle in a Kmart parking lot at about 1:30 a.m. Friday.
They forced their way into the car and took the boy to the hospital as a precaution.
Meanwhile, they tracked the man to his Springfield home.
He told police he lost the boy while shopping, panicked and called someone else for a ride. The boy's mother was working.
The 34-year-old man was not arrested and not immediately charged, but police say they expect to charge him with reckless endangerment to a child.

A REALLY BIG CHRISTMAS

Fourteen tons of Christmas trees dumped in Austrian garden

Published - Nov 24 2012 

VIENNA (AP) — An early seasonal delivery went badly wrong in Austria when a truck was involved in a crash and dumped 14 tons of Christmas trees in a resident's garden.
Police in Vorarlberg state, at Austria's western tip, say the accident happened Friday night as a truck with a trailer loaded with trees drove through the town of Hohenems.
The trailer hit a wall, tipped over and landed in the garden of a house. A police statement Saturday said that the fire service dispatched 30 people to recover the hundreds of fir trees.
A passenger in the truck was injured and taken to a local hospital.

Cutting Start-up Costs

Cops: Conn. real estate agent stole for sale signs from former employer

Published - Nov 23 2012 08:10AM CST

Associated Press

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut real estate agent has been charged with stealing a competitor's for sale signs from the front lawns of area homes.
Police say 54-year-old Robert Toth, of Shelton, was charged Wednesday with third-degree larceny and first-degree criminal trespass. Toth owns American Home Realty in Trumbull.
Police say U.S. Asset Realty owner Jihad Shaheer complained in September that his signs had been stolen from more than a half-dozen sites in Bridgeport and from the front of two homes in Stratford.
Police tell the Connecticut Post (http://bit.ly/TT1Dsp ) that they later determined that Toth had been taking the signs. Toth had worked for Shaheer before opening his own real estate company.
Toth declined to comment.

Texas Sized Wreck

Nov 23, 2012,  Beaumont, TX.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/texas/article/2-killed-dozens-injured-in-massive-Texas-pileup-4059874.php#ixzz2D4KmhJNRTwo people died and more than 80 people were hurt Thursday when at least 140 vehicles collided in Southeast Texas in a pileup that left trucks twisted on top of each other and authorities rushing to pull survivors from the wreckage.

On a foggy, misty Thanksgiving morning on Interstate 10 in South Texas some 140 vehicles were involved in a huge, chain reaction pile up that left two persons dead and 80 injured.  The backup and delays caused 1,000s of travelers to miss Thanksgiving altogether or to join in exchanging tasty treats  with their temporary neighbors on the road.

Undeterred, some families could be seen walking along the Interstate shoulder in an effort to get to a Walmart in time for Black Friday shopping.  Walmart permitted patrons to camp overnight in their parking lot and sold their entire stock of camp stoves, Coleman lanterns, flashlights, and other gear within two hours of opening.

The collision occurred in extremely foggy conditions at about 8:45 a.m. Thanksgiving Day on Interstate 10 southwest of Beaumont, a Gulf Coast city about 80 miles east of Houston.
A man and a woman were killed in a Chevy Suburban SUV crushed by a tractor trailer, the Texas Department of Public Safety told KFDM-TV.
DPS trooper Stephanie Davis late Thursday identified the dead as Debra Leggio, 60, and Vincent Leggio, 64.
Jefferson County sheriff's Deputy Rod Carroll said in a news release that 80 to 90 people were transported to hospitals with 10 to 12 of those in serious to critical condition. He said 140 to 150 vehicles were involved in the pileup.
According to DPS, a crash on the eastbound side of the highway led to other accidents in a dangerous chain reaction. There were multiple crashes on the other side of the highway as well.
Carroll told The Associated Press the fog was so thick that deputies didn't immediately realize they were dealing with multiple accidents.
"It is catastrophic," Carroll said. "I've got cars on top of cars."
I-10's eastbound lanes were re-opened Thursday evening after more than eight hours.
Davis told KFDM that two people in an SUV died after the crash.
Carroll said uninjured drivers tried to help as authorities sorted through the wreckage.
"It's just people helping people," Carroll said. "The foremost thing in this holiday season is how other travelers were helping us when we were overwhelmed, sitting and holding, putting pressure on people that were injured."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/texas/article/2-killed-dozens-injured-in-massive-Texas-pileup-4059874.php#ixzz2D4KmhJNR people died and more than 80 people were hurt Thursday when at least 140 vehicles collided in Southeast Texas in a pileup that left trucks twisted on top of each other and authorities rushing to pull survivors from the wreckage.
The collision occurred in extremely foggy conditions at about 8:45 a.m. Thanksgiving Day on Interstate 10 southwest of Beaumont, a Gulf Coast city about 80 miles east of Houston.
A man and a woman were killed in a Chevy Suburban SUV crushed by a tractor trailer, the Texas Department of Public Safety told KFDM-TV.
DPS trooper Stephanie Davis late Thursday identified the dead as Debra Leggio, 60, and Vincent Leggio, 64.
Jefferson County sheriff's Deputy Rod Carroll said in a news release that 80 to 90 people were transported to hospitals with 10 to 12 of those in serious to critical condition. He said 140 to 150 vehicles were involved in the pileup.
According to DPS, a crash on the eastbound side of the highway led to other accidents in a dangerous chain reaction. There were multiple crashes on the other side of the highway as well.
Carroll told The Associated Press the fog was so thick that deputies didn't immediately realize they were dealing with multiple accidents.
"It is catastrophic," Carroll said. "I've got cars on top of cars."
I-10's eastbound lanes were re-opened Thursday evening after more than eight hours.
Davis told KFDM that two people in an SUV died after the crash.
Carroll said uninjured drivers tried to help as authorities sorted through the wreckage.
"It's just people helping people," Carroll said. "The foremost thing in this holiday season is how other travelers were helping us when we were overwhelmed, sitting and holding, putting pressure on people that were injured."


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/texas/article/2-killed-dozens-injured-in-massive-Texas-pileup-4059874.php#ixzz2D4KmhJNR

NO COMMENT

NO COMMENT.   OTHERS WISHING TO MAKE COMMENTS FEEL FREE TO DO SO.

30 Years of Sacred Pigeon Poop

2 tons of pigeon droppings discovered in Swedish church tower/toilet

Nov 22 2012 

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A hatch on a Swedish church tower inadvertently left open for some three decades resulted in 2 tons of pigeon droppings amassing in the tower.
The church's property manager says the layer of droppings was 30 centimeters (12 inches) deep when it was discovered during a May inspection of the Heliga Trefaldighets Kyrka in Gavle, 170 kilometers (105 miles) north of Stockholm.
Lennart Helzenius said on Thursday that church staff had been shocked by the sheer number of bags of excrement cleaners were removing from the tower. He says the droppings filled 80 bags in the first round of cleaning, and then just as many in the second round.

Helzenius says the hatch had probably been left open since the 1980s.

Cadaver Companion

Russian woman hangs on to dead husband's body - for three years

Nov 20 2012 

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities say a woman with five children kept her husband's body in their apartment for almost three years after his death.
Prosecutors in the central Yaroslavl region said the unidentified woman, described as a devout Pentecostal Christian with a psychiatric record, was so distraught when her husband died of natural causes in 2009 that she believed he "was bound to resurrect."
An investigation was opened after the body was found in a dumpster in a plastic bag in July.
The prosecutors' office said Monday that the woman kept the cadaver in a bed in a room of her apartment and asked her children to talk to it and feed it.

There was no evidence of necrofilia though it was difficult to disguise the odor for 3 years.
The office says two children decided to dispose of the body when the family moved to another apartment.

Role Reversal - Man Equals Beast

Idaho man suspected of monkey killing to be moved

Published - Nov 20 2012 02:56PM EST

JOHN MILLER, Associated Press

(The Associated Press)

This booking photo provided by Boise Police Department shows Michael J. Watkins on Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. Police in Idaho say Watkins, 22, is facing felony burglary and grand theft charges after the death of a monkey at the Boise zoo. The patas monkey was found dead of blunt force trauma to the head and neck early Saturday morning, shortly after a zoo security guard frightened away two male intruders. (AP Photo/Boise Police Department)

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A 22-year-old man suspected of killing a monkey at the Boise zoo is scheduled to be moved to a jail in Idaho's capital.

The Ada County Sheriff's department said Tuesday that Michael J. Watkins would be moved from the Washington County jail in Weiser where he's been held since Monday afternoon to the Ada County jail in Boise.

Watkins faces an arraignment hearing Wednesday in 4th District Court.

The patas monkey died early Saturday of blunt force trauma.

Authorities say they'll charge Watkins with a pair of felonies: burglary, for allegedly breaking into Zoo Boise, and grand theft, for taking and killing the monkey.

There apparently was no motive for killing the monkey, just the blind rage of Watkins.

Police don't plan to charge a second man who was with Watkins, but apparently never entered the zoo.

A citizen's tip led to Watkins' arrest.

Go For It

Man arrested for stealing the online identities of two-thirds of the Greek population disguised as a raccoon.

In what could have been the world's largest shopping spree a cybercrook succeeded in pilfering more than half the Greek nation's online identities.

The scheme was discovered before the thief had time to do much shopping.

Deer Blow Chance To Grab Free Merchandise.

3 deer use automatic doors to enter Iowa store Nov 19 2012 

Associated Press

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Shoppers in Iowa got an unusual glimpse of wildlife Monday morning when a doe and two fawns entered a Kohl's department store thru the automatic doors.
Coralville Police Chief Barry Bedford says the deer used doors that open automatically to get into a Kohl's store.
He says the fawns remained in the store's vestibule, but their mother made it into the store and headed toward the back and women's lingerie, holding some discount coupons in her mouth.
Police say employees opened up some back doors permitting the doe to exit. The two fawns waited patiently until the doe left the store and then turned around and used the automatic exit doors to leave.
No injuries or damage were reported.

A Kohls spokesman indicated that Kohls welcomed all customers regardless of race, color, creed, ethnicity or species.

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Cannibalism: A Growing American Pastime.

NYC officer pleads not guilty in cannibalism case

Published - Nov 19 2012 07:42PM EST

Associated Press

(AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams)

In this courtroom drawing Federal Defender Julie Gatto requests bail for her client, New York City Police Officer Gilberto Valle, right, at Manhattan Federal Court, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012 in New York.

NEW YORK (AP) — A city police officer pleaded not guilty Monday to charges he plotted to kidnap, torture, cook and eat at least 100 women whose photos, names and addresses authorities say he pulled from a confidential law enforcement database.

Gilberto Valle entered the plea in federal court in Manhattan. Authorities arrested the 28-year-old New York Police Department officer last month based on a tip from his estranged wife.

One document on Valle's computer was titled "Abducting and Cooking (Victim 1): A Blueprint," according to a criminal complaint. The file also had the woman's birthdate and other personal information and a list of "materials needed" — a car, chloroform and rope.

"I was thinking of tying her body onto some kind of apparatus ... cook her over low heat, keep her alive as long as possible," Valle wrote in one exchange in July, the complaint says.

In other online conversations, investigators said, Valle talked about the mechanics of fitting the woman's body into an oven (her legs would have to be bent), said he could make chloroform at home to knock a woman out and discussed how "tasty" one woman looked.

"Her days are numbered," he wrote, according to the complaint.

That woman told the FBI she knew Valle and met him for lunch in July.

Valle had created a computer catalog with records of at least 100 women with their names, addresses and photos, the complaint says. Some of the information came from his unauthorized use of a restricted law enforcement database, authorities said. He claimed, according to the complaint, that he knew many of them.

No women were actually harmed, and Valle's lawyer claims he was never a threat. She says the alleged plot was pure fantasy.

Valle, a graduate of the University of Maryland, where he studied psychology and criminal justice, was suspended from the police force after his arrest.

The jailed Valle is due back in court Tuesday for a bail hearing.

Twinkie, twinkie...little cake

Twinkie maker Hostess reaches the end of the line

Published - Nov 16 2012 06:56PM CST

CANDICE CHOI, Associated Press

(Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — Twinkies may not last forever after all.
Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of the spongy snack with a mysterious cream filling, said Friday it would shutter after years of struggling with management turmoil, rising labor costs and the ever-changing tastes of Americans even as its pantry of sugary cakes seemed suspended in time.
Some beloved Hostess brands such as Ding Dongs and Ho Ho's likely will be snapped up by buyers and find a second life, but for now the company says its snack cakes should be on shelves for another week or so. The news stoked an outpouring of nostalgia around kitchen tables, water coolers and online as people relived childhood memories of their favorite Hostess goodies.
Customers streamed into the Wonder Hostess Bakery Outlet in a strip mall in Indianapolis Friday afternoon after they heard about the company's demise. Charles Selke, 42, pulled a pack of Zingers raspberry-flavored dessert cakes out of a plastic bag stuffed with treats as he left the store.
"How do these just disappear from your life?" he asked. "That's just not right, man. I'm loyal. I love these things, and I'm diabetic."
After hearing the news on the radio Friday morning, Samantha Caldwell of Chicago took a detour on her way to work to stop at a CVS store for a package of Twinkies to have with her morning tea and got one for her 4-year-old son as well.
"This way he can say, 'I had one of those,'" Caldwell, 41, said.
It's a sober end for a storied name. Hostess, whose roster of brands dates as far back as 1888, hadn't invested heavily in marketing or innovation in recent years as it struggled with debt and management changes.
As larger competitors inundated supermarket shelves with an array of new snacks and variations on popular brands, Hostess cakes seemed caught in a bygone time. The company took small stabs at keeping up with Americans' movement toward healthier foods, such as the introduction of its 100-calorie packs of cupcakes.
But the efforts did little to change its image as a purveyor of empty calories with a seemingly unlimited shelf life: Twinkies, for instance, have 150 calories and 4.5 grams of fat. A Ding Dong chocolate cake with filling has 368 calories and 19.4 grams of fat.
CEO Gregory Rayburn, who was hired as a restructuring expert, said Friday that sales volume was flat to slightly down in recent years. He said the company booked about $2.5 billion in revenue a year, with Twinkies alone generating $68 million so far this year.
Hostess' problems ran far deeper than changing tastes, however. In January, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than a decade. Its predecessor company, Interstate Bakeries, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2004 and changed its name to Hostess after emerging in 2009.
Hostess, based in Irving, Texas, said it was saddled with costs related to its unionized workforce. The company had been contributing $100 million a year in pension costs for workers; the new contract offer would've slashed that to $25 million a year, in addition to wage cuts and a 17 percent reduction in health benefits.
Management missteps were another problem. Hostess came under fire this spring after it was revealed that nearly a dozen executives received pay hikes of up to 80 percent last year even as the company was struggling. Although some of those executives later agree to reduced salaries, others — including former CEO Brian Driscoll — had left the company by the time the pay hikes came to light.
Then, last week, thousands of members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union went on strike after rejecting the company's latest contract offer. The bakers union represents about 30 percent of the company's workforce.
By that time, the company had reached a contract agreement with its largest union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which this week urged the bakery union to hold a secret ballot on whether to continue striking. Although many bakery workers decided to cross picket lines this week, Hostess said it wasn't enough to keep operations at normal levels.
The company filed a motion to liquidate Friday with U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The shuttering means the loss of about 18,500 jobs. Hostess said employees at its 33 factories were sent home and operations suspended. Its roughly 500 bakery outlet stores will stay open for several days to sell remaining products.
In a statement, the bakery union said Hostess failed because the six management teams over the past eight years weren't able to make it profitable — not because workers didn't make concessions.
"Despite a commitment from the company after the first bankruptcy that the resources derived from the workers' concessions would be plowed back into the company, this never materialized," the union said.
Ken Hall, general secretary-treasurer for the Teamsters, said his union members decided to make concessions after hiring consultants who found the company's financials were in a dire situation. But he said that he believed the company could've survived.
"Frankly it's tragic, particularly at this this time of year with the holidays around the corner," Hall said, noting that his 6,700 members at Hostess were now out of a job.
Kenneth McGregor, a shipper for Hostess in East Windsor, Conn., arrived at the plant Friday morning and said he was told he was laid off immediately.
In a statement on the company website, CEO Rayburn said there would be "severe limits" on the assistance the company could offer workers because of the bankruptcy. The liquidation hearing will go before a bankruptcy judge Monday afternoon; Rayburn said he's confident the judge will approve the motion.
"The strike impacted us in terms of cash flow. The plants were operating well below 50 percent capacity and customers were not getting products," he said. "There's no other alternative."

Ecuador officials reject donkey as candidate

Published - Nov 16 2012 01:23PM CST

Associated Press

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

People lead a donkey named "Mr. Donkey" to the National Electoral Council in hopes of registering him to run for a seat on the National Assembly in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Thursday, Nov. 15 2012. Daniel Molina, leader of the Mr. Donkey support group, said his group's goal was to raise awareness among voters about the seriousness of the National Assembly elections and the importance of choosing effective candidates. Although Mr. Donkey didn't get on the ballot for the Feb. 17, 2012 elections, supporters threw confetti and banged on drums to express their continued support. (AP Photo/Diario Expreso)

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — The demand of dozens of citizens has been denied in the Ecuadorean city of Guayaquil: There will be no jackass running for the legislature.
At least 40 people paraded their candidate through the city's streets to the electoral council offices. Mr. Burro even wore a tie. But officials refused to even let them in the door on Thursday, even though backers had dummied up a mock voter registration card showing the candidate's photo superimposed on a man wearing a business suit.

Donkey backer Daniel Molina told local television stations the goal was to call voters' attention to the seriousness of the February election, not to insult any party.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A missing family cat has been rescued from the ruins of a home near the center of the deadly Indianapolis house explosion.
Fire Capt. Rita Burris says the black cat named Gidget had been missing since the fiery blast late Saturday night.
A federal investigator found Gidget on Friday hiding behind a couch in the home of her owners, Glenn and Gloria Olvey. Burris says the cat was scared but otherwise in good condition. The carpet behind the couch, where Gidget had been hiding for several days was in need of replacement.

The Olveys already had recovered their other three pets, one of which was a boa constrictor named Tor.

The family lives next door to the house where the blast is believed to have originated.
Glenn Olvey says the blast hurled him several feet and trapped him, his wife and one of their two teenage daughters when their roof collapsed.  Tor helped with the rescue by slithering out from behind the couch where he had been hiding with Gidget.
Federal investigators indicated they found no evidence of terrorist involvement but said the investigation would not be completed for 18 months.

Shelters are housing several recovered pets.

Flipping Off the Utah cops for fun and profit

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Orem,Utah settles with man who flipped off cop.

Published - Nov 15 2012 05:08PM EST

Associated Press

OREM, Utah (AP) — A man who was pulled over and cited after flipping off a Utah police officer in 2010 has agreed to drop his complaint after the city of Orem agreed to pay him $2,500 in damages and promised not to ticket anyone else for the obscene gesture.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah had threatened a lawsuit on behalf of Seth Dame, saying an officer violated Dame's constitutional right to express himself after Dame flipped him off on June 25, 2010.

"Allowing police to detain and charge people for impolite behavior would grant police wide discretionary power to harass people they do not like," said John Mejia, Legal Director of the ACLU of Utah, in a statement Thursday. "Any police overstep of power to crack down on expression, even rude expression, is therefore worth serious attention."

The city declined to prosecute the case, but ACLU claimed the incident violated Dame's First Amendment free speech rights and his Fourth Amendment protection against unlawful search and seizure.

In the settlement, Orem agrees it shouldn't have stopped Dame solely for giving the finger, and won't do so in the future. The police department also agreed to continue training its officers about First Amendment protection.

"We do view this as a one-time, isolated incident, and don't anticipate it happening again," Orem City Attorney Greg Stephens said.

The settlement provides $2,500 in attorneys' fees to the ACLU, and $2,500 in damages to Dame.

Officials with the Orem city attorney's office didn't immediately return a request for comment Thursday.

The ACLU notes similar cases have been settled in Pennsylvania and Kansas.

"Various courts have concluded that using your middle finger to express discontent or frustration is expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment," Mejia said. "We are very pleased that Orem has responded to our efforts to ensure that everyone's free speech rights are protected."