Curses, Foiled Again
Authorities investigating the theft of President Obama’s teleprompter and podium last fall identified Eric Brown, 48, as their suspect. The equipment was recovered a few days later in Henrico, Va., but federal investigators continued their search for the culprit because the case involved the president. After an informant reported Brown had bragged about the theft and possessed items bearing the presidential seal, federal agents used tracking data in Brown’s cell phone to learn that the phone had been where the items were when they’d been stolen. (Richmond’s WTVR-TV)
Border patrol agents who spotted a Jeep Cherokee teetering atop a 14-foot-tall fence in southeast California reported that drug smugglers had built ramps to drive up and over the fence but got stuck at the top. Agents said two men on the Mexican side of the border trying to free the Jeep ran away when they approached, but they arrested the occupants of a pickup truck that had already made it over the ramp. (Associated Press)
Good News for Zombies
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Gerber Legendary Blades announced a voluntary recall of 119,000 Gerber Bear Grylls Parang Machetes that were marketed to zombie killers on last fall’s season opener of The Walking Dead television series. “If the Dead walk, the continuation of the human race will become a daily struggle,” the Portland, Ore., company said on its website. “Are you prepared to protect and defend your family and friends? Your best chance lies in the Gerber Apocalypse Survival Kit.” The limited-edition kit, which included six other zombie-fighting tools, sold for $349. The problem with the 19.5-inch-long curved weapons, with a 13.5-inch blade, was a weakness where the handle meets the blade, “posing a laceration hazard,” the recall said. Gerber received 24 reports of the blade or handle breaking during use and one injury—not, however, to a zombie. (Orlando Sentinel)
Beyond Suspicious
Federal officials at Los Angeles International Airport who noticed a passenger arriving on a flight from Japan dressed in a bulletproof vest and flame-retardant pants decided to search his luggage. After finding a smoke grenade, knives, body bags, a hatchet, a collapsible baton, a biohazard suit, a full-face respirator, handcuffs, leg irons and a device to repel dogs, they arrested Boston-bound Yongda Huang Harris, 28. (Associated Press)
Not a Total Loser
Pennsylvania’s State Employees Retirement System said convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky could keep more than $900,000 in state pension payments he received after his 1999 retirement from Penn State University. (Associated Press)
Lost Soles
Neglect, termites, mold and tropical humidity are destroying the shoes of Imelda Marcos. After she and her husband, President Ferdinand Marcos, fled the Philippines in 1986, they left behind his clothing and at least 1,220 pairs of her shoes. Two years ago, staffers at the presidential palace noticed the apparel was threatened, so they transferred 150 cartons of clothes and shoes to Manila’s National Museum for safekeeping. There, the items deteriorated even further because the boxes were abandoned in a padlocked hall that had no facilities to protect the relics and was inundated by tropical rains due to a leak in the ceiling. An extensive rescue effort is under way, although many of Imelda Marcos’s shoes are beyond repair.
Meanwhile, in suburban Marikina city, where officials borrowed 800 pairs of the former first lady’s shoes in 2001 for a shoe museum, about 765 pairs survived floods and still look almost new due to the museum’s meticulous care, which includes displaying them in airtight and dust-free glass cabinets in an air-conditioned gallery, away from direct sunlight. Noting the shoe collection draws a daily crowd of 50 to 100 Philippine and foreign tourists, museum manager Jane Ballesteros said, “The first word they utter is, ‘Wow,’” adding, “Her shoes never fail to astound people years after.” (Associated Press)
Blame Game
An Italian court convicted six scientists and a government official of manslaughter for failing to predict the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake, which killed more than 300 people, and sentenced them to six years in prison. The court also ordered Italian authorities to pay 7.8 million euros ($10 million) in damages. (CNN)
