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Cops: 2 Men Made Ray Gun to Zap Enemies of Israel

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:59:50 CDT

Sci-fi meets the crime blotter: US authorities accused two men of assembling a portable X-ray weapon that they intended to use to secretly sicken opponents of Israel. The indictment charged 49-year-old Glendon Scott Crawford of Galway, NY, and 54-year-old Eric J. Feight of Hudson, NY, with conspiracy to provide support...

Cops: Mom, Son Stole (Lots of) Gopher Feet

John Johnson — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:11:57 CDT

This isn't just a story about the theft of gopher feet in Minnesota—it's a story about the felony theft of gopher feet in Minnesota. As KAAL-TV reports, a mother and son have been charged with stealing hundreds of pairs from the garage of a trapper in Harmony. It's felony...

Londoners in Danger From Exploding Sidewalks

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:34:08 CDT

A bizarre but serious danger in London: exploding sidewalks, which have injured at least five people since January 2012 and also have damaged cars and buildings. The problem could have to do with water or gas entering electric cables underneath the sidewalks, and the UK's Health and Safety Executive has...

Dad's Restaurant Receipt Rips His 'F---in Needy Kids'

Matt Cantor — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:29:23 CDT

Friendly's Sports Bar and Grill in St. Louis didn't quite live up to its name this Father's Day, when a man found an unusual line item on his printed receipt: "1 f---in needy kids," KSDK reports. The place doesn't usually allow children, its manager says, but he made an exception...

DUI Suspect to Cops: Here, Have a Beer

Matt Cantor — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:05:58 CDT

When police asked a suspected drunk driver for his license, he offered an alternative: a can of beer. "When you ask somebody for a driver's license, you're not expecting a can of beer, that's for sure," says a spokesman for police in Kent, Washington, per KOMOnews . As if that wasn't...

Guy Tosses Meat to Bear, Gets Mauled

Matt Cantor — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:29:39 CDT

It's not a good week for tipsy guys : An overly generous—and possibly inebriated—man tossed barbecued meat to a black bear near an Alaska campground. His reward: getting mauled, state troopers say, per the Anchorage Daily News. The man had been at a church picnic at Eklutna Lake when...

Snoozing Bank Worker Mistakenly Transfers $300M

Kate Seamons — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:00:05 CDT

The latest in the annals of office screw-ups: A weary German bank worker was in the process of transferring 62.40 euros when he fell asleep for a (very expensive) "instant," reports the AFP . In his unconscious state he pushed the number 2 key, leading him to instead transfer 222,...

Google Launches Balloons That Beam the Internet

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 08:22:01 CDT

Wrinkled and skinny at first, the translucent, jellyfish-shaped balloons that Google released this week from a frozen field in the heart of New Zealand's South Island hardened into shiny pumpkins as they rose, passing the first big test of a lofty goal to get the entire planet online. It was...

Guy Has Heart Attack While Driving, Gets 3 Tickets

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:52:22 CDT

It sounds like a joke: a doctor's note reading, "Please forgive Mr. Langley's tickets due to his unfortunate experience of having a heart attack seconds prior to having his car accident." But no, this note really was delivered to a New Jersey municipal court, the Asbury Park Press reports. And...