Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know you Needed

Burglar gift-wrapped for police
A thief with his hands, feet and ankles tightly wrapped with duct tape was handed over to city cops after neighbors of a north Edmonton homeowner sprang in to action during a break in.
"More or less he was gift-wrapped for the police," said Dan Barsotti.
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Man arrested in torn pants fraud
A California man known for a series of UFO sighting hoaxes has confessed to attempting to defraud a restaurant for the value of a pair of torn designer jeans.
Gaylon Linn Murphy received three years unsupervised probation and 30 days of community service after pleading guilty Monday to misdemeanor charges of attempted grand theft and attempted taking property from another, which began when he tore a hole in his Gucci jeans during a visit to a Home Depot store. He then attempted to claim the retail price of the jeans, valued at between $500 and $1,500, from both the building supply store and a local restaurant where he had dined. The double-dipping attempt was uncovered by an Irvine detective.
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7-year-old joyrider freed from family car after a midnight spin
David Johnson thought he had all the angles covered when he sneaked out for a spin in his mother's car. It was the middle of the night, everyone was asleep, and it was dark outside.
Unfortunately the seven-year-old's first attempt at driving swiftly became common knowledge when he rolled the manual car onto its roof after 30ft.
The red VW Golf narrowly missed parked cars as it swept around in an arc and mounted a pavement on the other side of the road before smashing into a concrete fence post.
A wheel then rode up the post, flipping the ten-year-old car onto its roof and leaving David trapped upside down in the driver's seat.
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Father tells his daughter it’s okay to cheat
An eight-year-old girl was chucked out of a tennis tournament when she was found wearing a radio earpiece and getting instructions from her father.
Officials decided to disqualify Ukranian-born Anastasiya Korzh from a junior tennis tournament on New Zealand's South Island after they discovered wire in the girl's headband.
Tournament referee Rob Wilkinson said he and other officials became suspicious as the girl's game had a 'heightened degree of questioned calls.'
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Mystery of dead birds falling from the sky
Dead birds are falling from the sky in Australia for the second time in seven months, raising fears of a possible public health threat.
At least 200 seagulls have been found dead in Perth's popular beach side suburbs of Woodman Point and Henderson this week, baffling local authorities.
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Mom found teen daughter stripping at parlor
A mother has told how she twice went to a central Christchurch massage parlor to try to find her 16-year-old daughter after hearing the girl was performing on stage.
She struggled to be able to do anything to help the girl, after being told by the authorities that girls were legally able to strip from the age of 16.
"I had become aware that she was doing more than just stripping up there. She was not supposed to be doing sexual acts," the mother told a depositions hearing before Justices of the Peace in Christchurch District Court today.
A suppression clamp has come back down on the case, in which a 57-year-old businesswoman is facing eight charges relating to with the exploitation of two under-age sex workers.
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No Bizarre Names
Some parents have been branded abusers because of the bizarre names of their children.
Family Court Judge Rob Murfitt stated his concerns in a written decision after a custody hearing in New Plymouth revealed a couple had named their child Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii.
He was so disturbed at the effect on the nine-year-old that he ordered her temporarily placed under court guardianship so a suitable name could be chosen.
"It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap," he said.
The girl, who had not had her birth officially registered in NZ, had not revealed her name to her friends.
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Teen Sues Teacher for Calling Her Ugly
A Spring Valley teenager says she was humiliated when a teacher allegedly called her ugly in front of classmates and booted the girl from class with a swift kick to the buttocks.
The Mount Miguel High School freshman says in a $75,000 San Diego County Superior Court lawsuit that she wanted to join the school choir as they delivered singing grams on Valentine's Day. The teacher Heather Hargett allegedly called the 14-year-old "ugly" and a "brat" and kicked her butt after ordering her from the room.
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'Dude, I Can't Talk, I'm Being Chased by the Police'
Police in Minnesota are on the hunt for a suspect in a first-degree armed burglary case after losing the man in a multi-state chase — despite reaching him by cell phone.
Burnsville, Minn., detectives went to arrest Grayson Clevenger for the burglary charge Tuesday, only to see someone matching his description drive away in a stolen Dodge Durango.
The detectives tried calling Clevenger, who answered his cell phone saying, "Dude, I can't talk, I'm being chased by the police," and then hung up.
The suspect then drove briefly into Wisconsin and back to Minnesota, where he eventually abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot, according to the station. He remains at large.