Small Bits of News

Billions of electronic-eating ants invade Texas
It sounds like the plot of a farfetched science fiction movie. Unfortunately for the residents of Texas, it is very much a reality: billions of tiny reddish-brown ants have arrived onshore from a cargo ship and are hell-bent on eating anything electronic. Computers, burglar alarm systems, gas and electricity meters, iPods, telephone exchanges – all are considered food by the flea-sized ants, for reasons that have left scientists baffled. Having ruined pumps at a sewage facility, the ants are now marching towards Nasa’s Johnson Space Center and William P. Hobby airport, Houston, putting state officials in a panic. "They’re itty-bitty things, and they’re just running everywhere," said Patsy Morphew, a resident of Pearland, on the Gulf Coast.
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Police dog bit shooting victim instead of gunman
A MAN who was shot at in a Worksop street was bitten by a police dog who mistook him for the gunman. The man was aimed at by a thug brandishing a sawn-off shotgun on Newgate Street at 6:15pm last night - just as a police dog handler was passing by. The police officer saw the gun being discharged and missing the victim, and released his police dog to apprehend the attacker. But, instead, the victim was pounced on by the dog when he started running off in the same direction as the gunman.
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Car Thief Left Trail To His Front Door
A suspected car thief made an unusual blunder that led police directly to his door. Police say Ron Prasad left a fresh trail of engine fluid from a stolen and chopped car back to his driveway. Two police officers found a stolen car abandoned in a Sacramento alley, still dripping from its engine. Officer Sang Koo Park of the Sacramento Police and his partner saw that the oil left a trail, so they followed it. "This particular fluid trail was very discernable," said Officer Park. "It was fresh, it was uniform, you could have taken a highlighter and highlighted the trail back to his house. It was that noticeable."
Police arrested Prasad on theft charges. Based on other items found in the suspect's house, Officer Park said it appeared he had stolen other cars as well. Prasad allegedly had car parts and personal items that were in the stolen car.
Prasad said he did nothing wrong. "I don't steal cars," he said.
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Angry Flight Attendant Charged With Setting Fire in Airplane Bathroom
FARGO, N.D. — A flight attendant angry about his work route set a fire in an airplane bathroom, forcing an emergency landing, authorities said.
The Compass Airlines flight carrying 72 passengers and four crew members landed safely in Fargo on May 7 after smoke filled the back. No injuries were reported. The plane was flying from Minneapolis to Regina, Saskatchewan, authorities said.
Eder Rojas, 19, appeared in court Thursday, following his arrest a day earlier in Minneapolis, and ordered held without bail, prosecutors said. The charge of setting fire aboard a civil aircraft carries a 20 years in prison.
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Family Sues School for $207 Million Saying Counselors Killed Teen
A Maryland teen died after a confrontation with counselors at a school for juvenile offenders, now his family is suing for $207 million.
Attorney Steven Heisler said the federal suit filed Thursday seeks $1 million for every minute 17-year-old Isaiah Simmons III was restrained, causing his "slow, agonizing and excruciating death," the Baltimore Sun reported.
According to the paper, Simmons lost consciousness while counselors at Bowling Brook Preparatory School pinned him facedown to the ground for about three hours in January 2007.
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