Curses, Foiled Again
A man walked into a Chicago bank carrying a bag and told the teller he had a bomb. Police said he ordered the teller to stuff the bag with cash, then, when the bag was full, the robber left without taking it. (Chicago Tribune)
Two men flagged down police in Athens, Ga., to report they’d been robbed. The officers, who’d just seen a man running down the street carrying a gun, doubled back and called for backup to set up a perimeter. Officers spotted a discarded handgun on the ground near a trash bin. An officer waiting to take pictures of the weapon and log it into evidence heard a cell phone ringing inside the bin, opened the lid and found Zachariah Henry Garrett, 17. He fit the robber’s description and was carrying two stolen cell phones. (Athens Banner-Herald)
Free Consulting
Before San Francisco city leaders voted whether to recommend naming a Navy ship after slain gay rights activist, city supervisor and former naval officer Harvey Milk, Supervisor John Avalos said he consulted a Ouija board to help him make the right decision. He said he believes he made contact with Milk’s spirit and that Milk spelled out letters indicating, “Good riddance to ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’” The Board of Supervisors approved the non-binding resolution, 9-2. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Medical Miracle
A man checked into a Denver hospital with a kidney stone and left as a woman. “We’re in the emergency room,” Steve Crecelius said. “The nurse is reading the ultrasound and says, ‘Huh, this says you’re a female.’ It validated everything I had always felt inside.” It turns out Crecelius was born with both male and female sex organs. “I remember wearing my mom’s clothes and makeup, very secretly, not telling anybody,” said Crecelius, who now goes by “Stevie” and said she’s grateful for the support of her wife Debbie and their six children, noting that Debbie even took her shopping for her first bra. (Denver’s KDVR-TV and The Denver Post)
Slightest Provocation
A 17-year-old boy on his way to school in Corpus Christi, Texas,
stopped at a taco stand and placed an order. When the boy realized he
was late, he canceled the order. Police said a man at the taco stand,
Guillermo Torres Jr., 19, followed the boy and tried to run him over
with his truck. He missed but jumped out and punched the teen in the
face. Torres hopped back into his truck and resumed chasing the teen
before losing control and crashing into a building. He was treated for a
head laceration and arrested. (Corpus Christi Caller Times)
Think of the Children
When London Olympics chief starter Alan Bell, 61, agreed to signal the start of sports-day events at Scotland’s Gartocharn Primary School, West Dunbartonshire Council officials said he couldn’t use his starting pistol because it might frighten the children. The council first suggested that Bell, who has started more than 25,000 races, including hundreds of primary school events, could play a recording of a starting pistol from an iPod but then told Bell he could use a klaxon. “Anyone who believes they would be frightened by a starting pistol has never experienced the noise at a typical 3-year-old’s birthday party,” one parent said. (Britain’s Daily Mail)
Infamous Firsts
Retired judge Jacques Delisle, accused of murdering his wife of 50 years, was identified as the first member of Canada’s judiciary to stand trial on such a serious charge. Authorities said Delisle was living a double life and seeing his secretary when partially paralyzed Marie-Nicole Rainville, 71, was found dead at the couple’s Quebec City apartment with a revolver lying beside her. Delisle called 9-1-1 and reported the death as a suicide. When the operator asked him if Rainville had mentioned taking her own life, Delisle answered, “It’s a long story.” (CBC News)
Igniting Outrage
Citizens in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, objected after their longtime “eternal flame” was extinguished for five hours. The 28-year-old flame, a tribute to Soviet soldiers who died in World War II, burns in Victory Square in front of a statue of a woman symbolizing those who waited for loved ones to return from the war. Yevgeniy Orlenko, deputy director of the state-owned energy supplier KyrgyzGaz, explained the gas was shut off because the local government’s unpaid bills totaled $9,400. After the incident was reported abroad, KyrgyzGaz officials re-explained that the gas had actually been turned off for maintenance. (The Washington Times)
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submit original clippings, citing date and source, to Roland Sweet in
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