Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know you Needed

Police Find Bodies of Missing R.I. Couple in Septic Tank
Police found the bodies of a missing Rhode Island couple Saturday in the septic tank in their yard.
James A. Soares Sr., 60 and Marian F. Soares, 53, were last been seen at the beginning of the month. They were reported missing by family members July 15 after they missed a family reunion.
Police went to the couple's house in Warren and excavated the yard with a backhoe.
They removed two body bags with their remains, along with several bags of dirt. Police declined to comment on the condition of the bodies.
Rhode Island State Police has taken a family member into custody, but no formal charges have been filed.
.
Florida Woman Biting by Fox and Then Shot By Husband
Authorities say a Levy County, Fla., man accidentally shot his wife while trying to hit a fox that attacked her.
The couple told deputies they spotted an animal in their yard Friday morning and went outside to see what it was.
The fox bit the woman on the left leg and wouldn't let go, so she told her husband to get a gun.
The man fired a .22-caliber rifle seven times, killing the animal but also hitting his wife in the lower right leg.
The woman was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The dead fox will be tested for rabies, but authorities say the results won't be available until next week.
.
Cop Kills Toddler After Letting Family Cross Street
FREEPORT, Bahamas — Authorities say that a police van driven by a Bahamas detective hit a 2-year-old boy after stopping to let two adults and another child cross the road.
Police say the officer took the boy to the hospital but that he later died from his injuries. Police say the toddler apparently ran out in front of the van.
Police spokesman Basil Rahming said in a statement Friday that the toddler apparently was trying to catch up with the other people who crossed. The boy's mother, 27-year-old Shantell Johnson, said Jerome Hanna was her only child.
.
Man faces assault charge after licking officer
Freeport police Sgt. Jay Newton took a licking from a drunken suspect and now he's taking a lot of joking from his fellow officers. It really was just that — a licking. While Newton was taking items out of the pockets of Ryan Halverson, 18, at the Freeport city jail early Wednesday, Halverson, who had his hands handcuffed behind him, leaned over and licked Newton on the left cheek. He tried to get in a second lick, but the sergeant moved out of range, police chief Jeff Pynes said.
Halverson, who was being booked on a public intoxication charge, was charged with assault on an officer. He remains in the Brazoria County Jail on $10,000 bond.The licking could be serious, Pynes said, because it could spread various diseases to the officer. "We want people to like our officers, but not to lick them," Pynes said.Since the incident Newton has been talking a lot of ribbing from fellow officers, Pynes said. "He's been getting a lot of lollipops in his internal mail," the chief said.
PICTURE
.
Couple finds a fox cub in their bathroom
Meet the sly fox who popped into the bathroom for a quick wash and brush up
Perhaps he felt the need to spruce himself up after a hard night scavenging around town.
Or maybe he decided to go to earth in the inviting pile of soft clean towels.
For whatever reason, this fox cub managed to end up inside Alan and Carol Heard's bathroom at six o'clock in the morning.
Mrs Heard was in bed when she heard scratching and went to investigate, thinking her cats were having one of their regular squabbles. Instead, she found Basil Brush Junior perched on the window ledge staring at her.
Mrs Heard had the presence of mind to take a picture of the intruder, which probably got in through the cat flap, before calling for her husband. Mr Heard, 72, scooped up the cub in his arms and took it out to the garden where it disappeared into the undergrowth. Before it departed, however, it took a last backwards glance. 'It was as if he was saying goodbye', said Mrs Heard.
PICTURE and More
.
Woman facing jail for 'exaggerating' car crash injuries
A road crash victim who claimed an £800,000 insurance payout after allegedly "exaggerating" her injuries is facing a prison sentence after insurers filmed her shopping and driving.
Joanne Kirk, a 45-year-old university administrator, said she developed a controversial condition known as fibromyalgia after a fellow motorist, Carol Walton, shunted into the back of her car on the A6 at Bamber Bridge, Lancs, in September 2001.
She claimed she was left frequently bed-ridden and could only walk 10 steps without the assistance of another person unless she used crutches or even a wheelchair.
Although Mrs Kirk originally sought £800,000 she finally settled for £25,000 at Stockport County Court last June when Mrs Walton's insurers did not dispute liability for the accident itself. However, insurers gathered footage of her allegedly walking, shopping and driving.
.
Man With Medical Marijuana Card Arrested
A medical marijuana cardholder who deputies said had too many plants was arrested Friday morning.
Detectives with the Marion County Sheriff's Office Street Crimes Unit served a search warrant at the home of Marc Kauffman, 56, just before 10 a.m. and found that he had 35 mature marijuana plants and eight immature marijuana plants in his house, deputies said.
People with a medical marijuana card can only have six mature plants and 18 immature plants, deputies said.
The case stemmed from a charge that Kauffman was involving a minor in a drug offense because he had employed a 15-year-old to help him tend his plants, deputies said.