Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know you Needed

Woman diagnosed with fear of vegetables
Vicki Larrieux, a 22-year-old student from Portsmouth, claims she is unable to keep to a healthy diet because she is frightened of vegetables.
She suffers from a fear known as lachanophobia, which leaves her sweating and stricken with panic attacks at the merest sight of a sprout or a pea.
Miss Larrieux survives on a diet of meat, potatoes, cereals and an occasional apple but refuses even a single slice of carrot on her dinner plate.
"I have always had an irrational fear of vegetables even as a child I used to properly freak out if some carrots or a few peas were on my plate," she said.
"But as it continued into adult life I started to think it might not just be a dislike for vegetables but an actual phobia.
"Every time I would see vegetables not just on my plate, but anywhere I would get feelings of panic, start sweating and my heart rate would shoot up.
"People might think it is a bit of a laughable affliction but I have a genuine fear of greens it's not just that I dislike the taste of sprouts or broccoli, but the actual sight of them fills me with dread and I could never touch them."
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Policeman guilty of stealing
A police officer who was meant to stop Bristol shop-lifters stole two computer games and ruined his career.
Peter Cokell was permanently stationed at The Mall, Cribbs Causeway, and had an unblemished record as a PC, yet he was caught on CCTV in HMV committing the crime he had spent six years trying to stamp out.
The 34-year-old, from Wick, South Gloucestershire, was found guilty of theft by District Judge David Parsons after a three-day trial.
Cokell picked PlayStation 3 games Call of Duty: World at War and Kill Zone 2 and hid them under his Kevlar body armor before smuggling them out of the store on April 7.
At about 8.40pm that night, 20 minutes before the store was due to close, HMV's loss prevention officer at the time, Gary Sutton, noticed the officer browsing. As he had known Cokell professionally for several years, he recognized him straight away.
But he appeared to be acting "suspiciously", looking up at a dome CCTV camera, so Mr. Sutton continued to monitor him.
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Woman pretends to have breast cancer to get a “Free Boob” job
Count Trista Joy Lathern’s husband and co-workers among those who now feel misled and betrayed by her alleged pretense that she had breast cancer and was undergoing the rigors of chemotherapy.
Lathern, 24, formerly of Robinson, was arrested Wednesday on theft by deception charges after authorities say she lied about her medical condition, watched as friends raised $10,000 for her at a benefit and then reportedly spent the proceeds on breast-augmentation surgery.
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Man really likes energy drink -- no bull
James Taylor really, really likes Red Bull, according to his Buffalo police arrest report.
Taylor, a 50-year-old resident, is accused of visiting the same Rite Aid drug store four times over two weeks to steal numerous cans of the energy drink.
Taylor's alleged energy-drink crime spree began Oct. 25, when police say he stole nine $6.99 four-packs of Red Bull from the store.
The thefts increased over the past 48 hours, when police say Taylor stole five four-packs of Red Bull just after midnight Friday and four more four-packs just after midnight Saturday.
Those thefts had a total value of $125.82 for the 72 cans.
Finally, at 9:40 p.m. Saturday, when Taylor reportedly tried to steal three more packages of the energy drink, a store employee caught him and threw him into the store display.
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Mom takes down meth ring
Her husband was in prison, waiting out a 15-year sentence that he earned by selling methamphetamine out of his mechanic shop. Her kids were at home, missing their father.
So she called the Omaha Police Department, she wanted to become a police informant in hopes of shaving time off her husband's prison term. She'd turn in drug dealers, and her children could see their father again sooner. It turned out to be no ordinary partnership.
The mother of six gained the trust of dangerous people who were part of a drug ring active in Arizona, Texas, California, Nebraska and Iowa. Authorities link the ring to four still officially unsolved Omaha homicides.
By the time the informant's involvement ended, police had seized 13 pounds of methamphetamine worth an estimated $500,000 — enough to feed the daily habits of 17,600 or more users. Federal prosecutors convicted 11 people on drug and gun charges, getting them prison sentences ranging from five to 27 years.
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Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know you Needed

Another Tax
Air passengers are facing a new tax at India's New Delhi airport - to pay for dog catchers to trap packs of strays who chase planes.
Air traffic experts estimate that as many as five flights a day are delayed by dogs running after planes on the tarmac as they try to take off.
"In most places dogs just chase cars."
Here they like a bit more of a challenge," said one airport worker.
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Daddy Got What He Deserved
Sexually abused killer Brigitte Harris gets 5-15 years for penis-severing death of dad
A Queens judge Friday slapped Brigitte Harris with the toughest sentence possible for killing and dismembering her father to avenge years of sexual abuse.
Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman sentenced Harris to five to 15 years for the suffocation slaying of Eric Goodridge in her Rockaway apartment on July 28, 2007.
Harris admitted plotting to sever her father's penis with a scalpel by researching the case of Lorena and John Bobbitt. She wanted to prevent Goodridge, 55, from returning to his native Liberia with his granddaughters, she said.
"I never intended to kill him, and I'm sorry for his family's loss," she told Cooperman.
Cooperman acknowledged the findings of mental health professionals who agreed Goodridge repeatedly sexually abused his daughter from age 3, but he cautioned against victims taking the law into their own hands.
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Man offers woman $4 for sex
An Ottawa man was apparently looking for cheap sex last month at a state park, according to police.
Conservation Police arrested Dale R. Charlier, 59, 1853 Post St., Oct. 22 on a complaint of solicitation of a sex act. He posted bond at the police station at Starved Rock State Park.
Conservation Police said Charlier approached a woman at 3:22 p.m. Oct. 13 at Point Shelter, which is at the eastern edge of Starved Rock State Park, offering her $4 for a sex act. After investigating, police turned their information over to the state's attorney's office. That office filed the charge Thursday.
At the time of his arrest, police issued Charlier with notice he is barred from entering the park for 90 days. The charge is punishable by as long as six months in the county jail, as long as two years of probation and as much as a $500 fine. If found guilty, Charlier would have to register as a sex offender annually for at least 10 years.
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Do you see what I see?

Of course you notice the bare butt of the girl in the background?

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Then go and see an eye doctor because this is the shoulder of the girl taking the picture

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Royal Mail is a Royal Pain, 'demands baby’s signature'

A pensioner has complained that a postal worker refused to hand over a parcel to him unless his nine-day-old baby granddaughter signed for it.
John Berry, 70, said he was startled when he was told by the worker at a sorting office that he could not pick up the package on behalf of his new-born granddaughter, Amber.
The retired man went to the depot in Cheltenham, Glos, after a postman dropped a card through his letter box to say a package was waiting for the infant.
But when he arrived he was told that only Amber could sign for it because her name was on the parcel.
“It was absolutely ridiculous,” said Mr. Berry, who was frustrated because I had many forms of identification on me, including my driving license, which proved I lived at the address on the parcel.
“He still wouldn’t allow me to take the package claiming that Amber needed to sign for it herself. I told him she was a baby but he kept persisting.”
Mr. Berry’s wife, Hazel, 65, a civil servant, said that when she complained, Royal Mail cited data protection law. “This country has gone stupid, there is red tape everywhere," she said.

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Inmates come to guard's aid in jail attack

Hillsborough County, Florida, Deputy Kenneth Moon was alone at his station at a county jail facility near Tampa when an inmate attacked him with no warning.
Moon, 64, was no match for Douglas Burden, 24, in custody on various drug charges. With Moon still in his chair, Burden put him in a choke hold and pulled tight.
And then, surveillance video of the Monday attack showed, other inmates jumped into the fray.
But the other inmates joined the fight on the guard's side, pulling Burden away from Moon and punching him in the head. One inmate grabbed Moon's radio and called for back-up. The inmates held Burden down until other guards arrived as one of them extended a hand to help Moon up, according to the video.
Col. James Previtera, commander of Hillsborough County's Department of Detention Services, told reporters he believed that the inmates "saved the deputy's life."
"The response of the inmates in this case, I think, speaks volumes as to the fact that we treat these men and women ... in our facilities with a lot of respect," Previtera said.
Previtera said that Burden was moved to administrative confinement after the attack and that Moon was not seriously hurt.
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Ex-Employees Charged With Serving Bad Salsa

Two former restaurant employees been charged with adding poison to salsa that made customers sick at Mi Ranchito in Lenexa in August.
Arnoldo Bazan, 30, and Yini De La Torre, 19, both of Shawnee, are accused of mixing a Methomyl-based pesticide into the salsa.
Dozens of customers became ill, suffering from nausea, abdominal cramps, weakness, sweating and discomfort.
According to the indictment, Bazan claimed the owner of Mi Ranchito restaurants as responsible for him losing his job and his vehicle.
Prosecutors said the couple devised a plan to use the poison in hopes the owner would be blamed and suffer financial harm.
If convicted, the pair could face 20 years in prison and fines of $250,000.
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Sweet Revenge

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Takes Woman 950 times to pass her driving test

A South Korean woman is celebrating after passing the written exam for a driving license - on her 950th attempt.
After four years of trying, 68-year-old Cha Sa-soon finally managed to secure the 60 out of 100 points needed to pass the test.
The grandmother has spent more than 5m won ($4,200, £2,600) on application fees for the test.
Now Mrs. Cha, who lives in Jeonju, 130 miles (210km) south of Seoul, must pass the practical test to get on the road.
'Didn't give up'
According to the Korean Driver's License Agency, the 50-minute written test consists of 50 multiple-choice questions on road regulations and car maintenance.
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Fugitive taunts officers with police van photo

An on-the-run burglary suspect taunted the authorities today with a home-made mug shot showing him standing next to a police van.
Matthew Maynard, 23, is wanted in connection with a burglary in the Mount Pleasant area of Swansea, south Wales, in September.
His mug shot appeared in a South Wales newspaper over the weekend, together with seven others, as part of a police appeal to track down wanted suspects.
Staff at the newspaper was then bemused to get a phone call from Maynard claiming he was unhappy with the photograph they used and that he would send in another.”
“We just didn’t believe that he would do it.”
Maynard did send in a photo of himself via his mobile phone, taunting the authorities by standing in front of a police van.
The snapshot features on the newspaper’s front page today, ensuring the public gets a far clearer image of the fugitive’s face.
The newspaper's editor also used the paper’s opinion column to express his hope that Maynard will be caught sooner rather than later as a result of the extra publicity.
Maynard still remains at large.
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Wife is allergic to her husband's sperm

A newlywed couple fear they will be unable to have a baby after they discovered the wife was allergic to her husband's semen.
Julie Boyde, 26, discovered the problem when she and husband Mike, 27, had unprotected sexual intercourse for the first time on their wedding night.
The couple had been dating for two years when they got married, but had always used protection. As soon as they had unprotected intercourse for the first time she knew something was wrong.
"Before we were always very careful and, you know, used protection, and that time we didn't," so we figured we were married now, so if we got pregnant, we got pregnant."
Mrs. Boyde, from Ambridge, Pennsylvania, added: "The pain that I was feeling was inside, kind of like, somebody was sticking needles up inside of me and like a burning, like really painful burning."
Doctors were unable to explain why she experienced pain after intercourse, until a friend of hers suggested she might be allergic to her husband's semen. She was eventually diagnoses with Seminal Plasma Hypersensitivity, which can cause itching and burning.
Dr Andrew Goldstein, from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center said: "The body recognizes semen as a foreign protein just as it would recognize a peanut allergen or pollen." "So you have swelling, you have itching; you have inflammation of the nerve endings."
His colleague Jonathan Bernstein developed a desensitization treatment similar to receiving an allergy shot. After determining the proteins in Mr. Boyde's semen that triggered his wife's reaction, he created a serum to counteract the problem. Although the treatment works for some couples, it did not for the Boydes. They have now started adoption proceedings.
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