Man found with stolen property after hailing police cruiser with middle finger

KENORA, Ont. - An Edmonton man who used his middle finger to flag down a cruiser in northern Ontario has been charged with stolen property offences. The cruiser with the Kenora detachment stopped after officers noticed the not-so-polite gesture, and the man asked if he could get a ride to the nearest town. - Read more...

US man finds cold intruder in bed with him, holds him at bay with bat for police

PITTSBURGH - Police say a man broke into a Pittsburgh home and climbed into bed with its owner, apparently because he was drunk and cold following a rap concert. Homeowner Frank Fontana says he was in bed when the man climbed in about 5:30 Wednesday morning. Fontana says he asked whether it was a woman who has keys to his home - and he grabbed a baseball bat when a deep male voice answered, "No, it's not." - Read more...

Ode to Becks: Britain's poet laureate laments David Beckham's Achilles tendon

LONDON - O Beckham, where art thou? David Beckham has become an unlikely muse to Britain's poet laureate, who has written a verse about the soccer star's career-threatening injury. - Read more...

Plane makes emergency landing on SC beach, killing jogger who never knew what hit him

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - The kit-built single-engine plane had turned into a glider, almost silently trying to make an emergency landing along a stretch of beach. Pharmaceutical salesman Robert Gary Jones, ear buds in, listening to his iPod while jogging neither saw nor heard it and was struck from behind Monday evening and killed instantly. "There's no noise," said aviation expert Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general for the National Transportation Safety Board. "So the jogger, with his ear buds in, and the plane without an engine, you're basically a stealth aircraft. Who would expect to look up?" - Read more...

World's shortest man, He Pingping of China, dies in Italy; fell ill at TV rehearsal

ROME - The world's shortest man has died in Italy, where he was to take part in a TV show, the program's production company said Tuesday. He Pingping, of China, who was 2 feet, 5.37 inches (74.6 centimetres) tall, had become a recognized figure across the world, often taking part in shows, photo shoots and other events, Guinness World Records said. - Read more...

When horses fly: Helicopter rescues horse stranded nearly 5 days on US sandbar

PHOENIX - It's not every day you see a horse fly. But with the greatest of ease, a heavy-duty helicopter plucked a mustang named Colorado off an Arizona river sandbar Tuesday morning, reuniting him with his owner. Colorado spent five days stranded on the sandbar along the Gila River, southwest of Phoenix. - Read more...

Staten Island Ferry worker suspended over shamrock flap; says he just wanted to spread cheer

NEW YORK - A mate on New York's famous Staten Island Ferry has been suspended for marking surfaces of the boat's pilothouse with a shamrock stamp. Jared Largo says he just wanted to spread cheer before St. Patrick's Day, which is celebrated Wednesday. - Read more...

Expensive piece of dung: Swiss designer creates watch made from fossilized dinosaur droppings

GENEVA - A Swiss watchmaker is hoping to raise a stink with an expensive timepiece that eschews the trade's standard gold, diamond or titanium fittings for a more earthy substance - dinosaur dung. Vesenaz, Switzerland-based company Artya says the watch set in fossilized feces will sell for 12,000 ($11,290) and comes with a strap made with skin from an American cane toad. - Read more...

Would-be Regina car thieves steal vehicle with owner clinging to hood

REGINA - It turned out to be one wild ride on the streets of Regina. Police say it began when two women stole a Buick La Sabre from a hotel in the city's south end and drove away. - Read more...

Lawsuit settlement means no more perfume, aftershave or other scents for Detroit city workers

DETROIT - Change is in the air for Detroit city workers. City employees will be urged not to wear perfume, cologne or aftershave as a result of a settlement in a federal lawsuit. - Read more...

Miami man allegedly had followers drink snail mucus in rituals, causing violent illness

MIAMI - Devotees of a Miami man who claims to practice a traditional African religion say they were sickened when they had to ingest the mucus of a giant African snail. Federal authorities in January raided Charles L. Stewart's home after receiving complaints. Stewart has not been criminally charged, but prosecutors and state and federal wildlife agencies are investigating. The giant African snail is prohibited in the U.S. without special approval. - Read more...

Centuries-old English cheese-rolling competition cancelled for overcrowding concerns

LONDON - A 200-year-old English race in which competitors chase round cheeses rolling down a hillside has been cancelled this year because of overcrowding concerns. Organizers say the event in Gloucestershire in southwestern England has become so popular that anticipated crowds have far outgrown the capacity of the location. - Read more...

NY cashier, 91, is punched trying to fend off thief, insists on finishing her shift

EAST NORTHPORT, N.Y. - A 91-year-old New York pharmacy cashier refused medical attention and went back to work after a thief punched her. Florence Critelli grabbed the man's hand and screamed when he reached over and grabbed cash from her cash register at the Rite Aid in East Northport on Long Island. He punched her in the chest, knocking her down, before fleeing. - Read more...

NYC funeral home van ticketed, then towed - with body inside

NEW YORK - A police tow truck removed a minivan parked outside a New York City funeral home - with a body inside. New York police spokesman Paul Browne says there was "nothing to indicate it was more than just an illegally parked car." - Read more...

Man working on home computer in Peterborough, Ont., bit by stray snake

PETERBOROUGH, Ont. - A Peterborough, Ont., man was working on his home computer just after midnight Thursday when he got the surprise of his life. A metre-long California king snake - believed to be a neighbour's pet - slithered up and bit the unidentified man on the hand. He flung it off, trapped it in a garbage bin, then rushed to hospital where he discovered the reptile was not venomous. - Read more...

Midnight knitter spinning nocturnal yarn over US shore town, putting sweaters in trees

WEST CAPE MAY, N.J. - Someone is spinning quite a yarn over one New Jersey shore town. An unknown person dubbed The Midnight Knitter by West Cape May residents is covering tree branches and lamp poles with little sweaters under cover of darkness. Mayor Pam Kaithern says police are looking into the guerrilla needlework, which technically is against the law because it is being done on public property without permission. - Read more...

Crime doesn't pay much: Police say robber scored $6 from holding up 11 people at US market

THERMAL, Calif. - They say crime doesn't pay. For one robber in California, it did - but not much. Authorities in Riverside County say a woman with a gun robbed 11 customers at a market and got away with $6. - Read more...

Calgary Zoo's newest male tiger shows signs of bonding with female tiger

CALGARY - The Calgary Zoo's new male tiger appears to like his new roommate. Baikal came to Calgary from the Bronx Zoo in January as part of the Siberian Tiger Species Survival Plan. Officials hope that Baikal will mate with a female tiger named Katja and on Tuesday, the two met whisker to whisker for the first time. - Read more...