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Weird News

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This is an undated booking photo, provided by the Mountain View Police, of Thomas Langenbach, taken in Mountain View, Calif. Langenbach, a Silicon Valley technology executive, is facing charges after authorities say he changed the bar codes on Lego toys at a Target store to buy them for less. (AP Photo/Mountain View Police)

Silicon Valley tech exec accused of Lego thefts

A Silicon Valley software executive put fake bar codes on Lego sets at various Target stores, bought the toys at a steep discount, then sold them online for thousands of dollars, authorities said. Thomas Langenbach, 47, appeared in court Tuesday on four felony counts of burglary that could net him ...

Iowa man with zebra, parrot in truck gets DUI

An Iowa man stopped outside a Dubuque bar with a small zebra and a parrot in his truck has been charged with drunken driving. KCRG-TV reports (http://bit.ly/KkBp1j ) officers arrested 56-year-old Jerald Reiter of Cascade on Sunday in the parking lot of the Dog House bar, where people had been ...

In this picture taken Monday, May 21, 2012 in Krakow, Poland, 33-year-old female elephant Citta is raising her trunk in her enclosure. Citta has been tapped by zoo officials to predict the Euro 2012 match results after she made the right pick on a marked apple to predict Chelsea's Champion's League win last week. (AP Photo) POLAND OUT

Elephant and pig tapped to predict Euro 2012 games

Who's going to win the European Championship? Time to ask an elephant — or a pig. Poland's answer to Paul the Octopus — the tentacled tipster who gained worldwide fame for his 2010 World Cup predictions — is Citta the elephant. Ukraine, however, will probably go for an enormous beer-loving ...

Ohio family's stolen swine statue is returned

A life-size swine statue is back at home after disappearing in the city once dubbed "Porkopolis." The Cincinnati Enquirer (http://cin.ci/Ljel3f) reports that Maggie Gieseke and her family have kept the heavy, 2-foot-tall statue for a decade in their front yard in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood. Sometimes they dress it ...

This June 7, 2010 image from television supplied by Network 10 shows a commemorative coffee mug of the 2010 presidential visit by Barack Obama sitting on a stone pillar in front of Parliament House in Canberra, Australia. A Parliament House official told senators on Monday, May 21, 2012 that 198 mugs were smashed and buried under wet concrete at a loading dock behind the building. One senator called it a "mafia-style execution" for the mugs, which had an extra "r" printed in Obama's first name. (AP Photo/Network 10) AUSTRALIA OUT

Mafia-style end for Australia's flawed Obama mugs

Australian officials wanted to get rid of some commemorative mugs that misspelled President Barack Obama's name. And boy, did they ever. A Parliament House official told senators on Monday that 198 mugs were smashed and buried under wet concrete at a loading dock behind the building. Sen. John Faulkner called ...

Ore. workers awarded $332K in onsite toilet fight

Two workers who claimed they were forced to urinate in a bucket have been awarded $332,000 after a jury found they were fired for complaining to Oregon regulators about the lack of an onsite toilet. The Oregonian reports (http://is.gd/2gtxb5 ) that Douglas Eki and Xerxes "Jason" Doctolero told the state ...

Tons of pot found floating off Southern Calif.

Authorities say three and a half tons of marijuana have been found floating in the ocean off Southern California. A boater spotted 160 bales of pot around noon Sunday about 15 miles off the coast of Dana Point. Orange County authorities and the Coast Guard sent boats to gather up ...

Ohio pair get engaged after running half-marathon

An Akron couple is celebrating after their half-marathon ended up being a sort of race to the altar. Allison Ramsey says she was "completely shocked" when her boyfriend got down on his knee to propose after they finished the Cleveland half-marathon on Sunday. The Plain Dealer (http://bit.ly/JqEmjs ) reports the ...

Ouch! Dog bites politician but she gets a vote

A woman running for the Michigan Legislature was bitten by a dog while going door to door. The dog's distressed owner has made amends: Ann Doyle can put a campaign sign on his property. Doyle says she didn't see the dog until it was too late Wednesday. She was campaigning ...

Heads wins coin toss for Texas City Council seat

City Council candidate Bruce MacNair watched the coin rise into the air Friday. His opponent, Bryan Studer, kept his gaze on the carpeted floor to see how it landed. Within seconds, the silver dollar settled heads up, giving the City Council seat to MacNair, a 56-year-old church administrator. He had ...

Man's defibrillator stops knife during attack

A man's implanted heart defibrillator may have saved his life in an unexpected way — by stopping a knife. San Diego police say the 57-year-old got into an argument with an acquaintance early Thursday near some elevators at the trolley station for the Fashion Valley shopping mall. Police say the ...

Coin toss to decide Texas city council election

A city council election in West Texas is going to be decided with a coin toss Friday. Bruce MacNair and Bryan Studer are competing for a seat on the Wolfforth (WOOL-furth) city council. Both received 118 votes in last weekend's election. The men agreed to break the tie with a ...

Man wears briefs on head during Idaho burglary

Police in southwest Idaho say a man chose briefs over boxers to wear on his head as he held up a coffee shop and stole a safe. Coffee shop owner Jason Wilson tells the Idaho Statesman says he believes the man was likely not prepared when he entered Big Star ...

This family photo shows Patrick Gonzalez, 12, with an image of San Antonio Spurs' Matt Bonner shaved into his head, at his home in San Antonio on Tuesday, May 15, 2012. Gonzalez was suspended for a day from Woodlake Hills Middle School because the district deemed his $75 haircut a distraction. He returned to class Thursday after reluctantly shaving his head. (AP Photo/Rachel Delgado)

Texas boy suspended over NBA shave scores tickets

A 12-year-old Texas boy who was suspended from school after shaving his head to resemble the face of Spurs forward Matt Bonner scored tickets to a playoff game and props from his favorite NBA player. Patrick Gonzalez was suspended for a day from Woodlake Hills Middle School because the school ...

Moose on the loose triggers police chase in Utah

Utah wildlife officials say a moose went on a jaunt through neighborhoods north of Logan and triggered a police chase. Division of Wildlife Resources officers tried to corner the wandering bull moose on Wednesday morning when the animal ran away. It was stopped when conservation officer Mark Burgess shot it ...

Police hold diamond-swallower until evidence moves

Police in the Canadian province of Ontario say they are holding a man who allegedly swallowed a $20,000 diamond as long as it takes for him to produce the evidence. It has been nearly a week since Richard Mackenzie Matthews, 52, is alleged to have switched a diamond at Precision ...

Calif. woman apparently burned by rocks in pocket

A woman suffered third-degree burns after what appeared to be the spontaneous combustion of rocks that had been scooped up from a Southern California beach, a fire official said. The 43-year-old woman's children collected the rocks Saturday at San Clemente Beach, and she tucked them into the pocket of her ...

Jake Westgerdes, 11, makes a healthy wrap sandwich with chicken, carrots, broccoli, tortilla and italian dressing.

Seattle car vandal takes nothing, leaves tortillas

Seattle police are scratching their heads about this one. A car prowler shattered a window of a parked Jeep, stole nothing and left behind a little something for the car's owner — a dozen tortillas scattered across the floor. The crime happened last week near the University of Washington. Bemused ...

Authorities: Trooper gets text seeking illegal buy

Two women face possible charges after authorities say a text message seeking the illegal purchase of alcohol was errantly sent to an Alaska State Trooper. Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters tells KTUU-TV (http://bit.ly/L81Gwx) an off-duty trooper in the southwest Alaska town of Bethel began getting text messages from an unknown number ...

Baby red crabs invade Cayman Islands

Hundreds of thousands of red baby crabs are invading the Cayman Islands in a seasonal migration that residents say is unusually heavy this year. The crabs are blanketing roads, scurrying across yards and scratching their way up homes and buildings in a process that scientists say will last about a ...