Offbeat News

Sep 14, 2005 3:00 am US/Eastern Today is Wednesday, September 14th, the 257th day of 2005.

A seven-month old baby in Vietnam has survived after having a half-kilogram foetus removed from his abdomen, doctors in Vietnam's southern economic hub said on Wednesday.

LINCOLN, Neb. - Several residents of Lincoln, Calif., received phone calls last week asking for their support for a Wal-Mart in northeast Lincoln.2.7

The new M.H. de Young Memorial Museum's strategy to rid itself of a messy pigeon problem is creating a nuisance for some of its neighbors.3.2

Terry Pettijohn says in troubled social and economic times, people prefer mature and meaningful songs.3.2

Creative KUTV Viewers answered our call for new slogans For Utah. We are forwarding them on to the tourism task force for their review.2.7

Associated Press Sept. 13, 2005 04:45 PM NEW YORK - Ask Angelina Jolie about her children and like any proud mother, she'll brag about them.3.1

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A robber swinging a samurai sword sent condiments flying before fleeing with $32 taken from the frightened lunchtime crowd.2.7

Residents of this central Iowa town say they are tired of the smell coming from a trucking company that washes livestock trucks.3.2

ATHENS, Greece - An Athens mobile phone dealer has been arrested for allegedly selling thousands of amateur sex videos he had downloaded from cellular phones brought to his shop for repairs, police said ...

LONG-TERM SAVINGS: Plenty of people pile some income into a 401 plan through work, and then essentially forget about it.2.7

MERCER, Pa. Police cited an Ohio man for harassment after an ugly prank involving his sister.4.1

The Rat Surveillance Department has 97 rat catchers on the municipal payroll. It's a decades-old agency that hasn't seen much action since 1994 when a plague outbreak killed 56 people in areas of northwest ...2.7

Canadian seamen from the HMCS Athabaskan carry out broken dishes from the Convention Center and Colliseum that was damaged by Hurricane Katrina as they help with the clean-up in Biloxi, Miss., on Tuesday, Sept.1.3

LOS ANGELES - Authorities on Tuesday dismissed a claim that a wrangler had nabbed a 7-foot-long alligator named "Reggie" from a city lake, where he had been dumped several months ago and repeatedly avoided ...

An Indian college girl has temporarily married her teenaged boyfriend's elder brother so she can live in the same house as her lover until he is old enough to marry her, the Indian Express reported Tuesday.4

You can now find a Virgin in your local liquor store. Virgin Vines is a new wine brand which went on sale nationwide yesterday.

They cannot escape the stench, but residents of tiny Reynolds, Indiana, hope the oceans of hog manure produced nearby will power their homes and businesses some day soon.4.5

Farewell, "Aladdin Gardens." "White House Mini District," you're history. Shanghai, China -- The southwestern Chinese city of Kunming is forcing developers to change the names of those properties and others ...4.2

One night at the Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire is up for auction. The high-bidder will get complete use of the hotel - all 200 rooms - for the night of November ninth.2.7

Eleven adopted children are in Ohio state custody after a case worker discovered nine of them between the ages of 3 and 14 living in locked cages.2.9

"Color is the new thing," he predicted. He was promptly ignored by the others farmers here at the heart of the nation's onion belt.2.9

Associated Press Sept. 13, 2005 08:35 AM LOS ANGELES - A judge has frozen the assets of Marion "Suge" Knight in a ruling that favors an imprisoned drug dealer, who wants half of a $107 million court award to ...2.7

In June, a judge in Edinburgh, Texas, accepted a plea bargain in which Robert W. Thompson, 46, who had pleaded no contest to aggravated sexual assault of a 7-year-old girl, was sentenced to no jail time but 320 ...

First, the inmates couldn't smoke. Now, prisoners here can't have any tea, either.2.7

The symbolism of the Dalai Lama's Idaho trip was on display as the spiritual guide for 20 million Tibetan Buddhists, perched on a stage 5,800 feet up in the Sawtooth Range, gave advice to 350 American business ...2.7

Trying to avoid a drunk driving charge, a man decided to get into the backseat with his passengers, but forgot to stop the car first.3.1

Don't try telling Larry Dwyer that roller skating is just for kids. The 71-year-old General Motors retiree still has the skates he bought when he was 17.2.7

An Australian professional football player said on Tuesday he plans to have one of his fingers amputated in an attempt to improve his game.5.1

Today is Tuesday, September 13th, the 256th day of 2005. There are 109 days left in the year ... In 1851, American medical pioneer Walter Reed was born in Gloucester County, Virginia.3.7

A three-year-old boy sets eyes on the Guiness Book as a marathon runner! In the recently-held CRPF athletic meet in Bhubaneswar, Budhia Singh completed a 25 km run and won an award from Orissa Governor.2.7

Associated Press Sept. 12, 2005 05:00 PM NEW YORK - In the eyes of viewers, reality television is ... I don't think it's really real," said Brenda Sobol, a 42-year-old homemaker from Susanville, Calif.3.1

Dusty Simmons, 45, had never been to prison despite 83 prior convictions for prostitution, drugs, robbery and bail jumping.2.7

Nicholas Cerino could recognize one of "America's Most Wanted," the fugitive profiled on the show Saturday night was sitting in his living room.4.7

Matt Damon and his girlfriend, Luciana Barroso, are engaged, Us Weekly reported Monday.2.9