TOO STRANGE TO BE FICTION!

STORIES ADDED FEBRUARY 2005:

LOCAL STRANGE!!  Caldwell woman sought in scalping of teenage girl

Boise County deputy describes attack as 'revenge'

Boise County investigators are searching for a 26-year-old Caldwell woman accused of scalping a teenage girl last month at Kirkham Hot Springs over what deputies say was an apparent "personal slight."

Marianne Dahle is charged with tying the 16-year-old Nampan up the evening of Jan. 18, then grabbing the back of her head and slicing off much of the back and top of her scalp with a knife, Boise County sheriff's Chief Deputy Bill Braddock said Tuesday.

[Note: Ms. Dahle turned herself in about 24 hours after the heat came on.]

Dahle is described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with hazel eyes and brown hair. Investigators said she may have shaved much of her hair off except for her bangs, giving her a "punker appearance."

Investigators say the attack apparently wasn't drug-related or part of a fight, but instead a planned retaliation for some personal conflict.

"The baseline motive for the female who did this is that (she felt) the victim had acted in a way disrespectful towards women," Braddock said. "It looks like an act of revenge."

The teen, whose name was not released, suffered extensive scalp injuries and was hospitalized for several days, Braddock said Tuesday.

After the attack, Dahle drove the girl to Boise and abandoned her outside St. Luke's Regional Medical Center, according to reports. Dahle has been missing since the attack, according to reports. She's wanted on an arrest warrant charging aggravated battery. The maximum penalty for aggravated battery is 15 years in prison.

Deputies found the girl's scalp near one of the hot spring pools, but doctors were not able to reattach it, Braddock said.

Dahle, the victim and another teenage girl who saw the attack were acquaintances and went together to the hot springs near Lowman, Braddock said.

The other teen witnessed the attack and is not suspected of being involved, Braddock said. Both the victim and witness were traumatized and are afraid of Dahle, he said.

Kirkham Hot Springs, about 70 miles north of Boise, is a popular soaking area on weekends during the winter. But Jan. 18 was a Tuesday, and the three women were apparently alone at the time of the attack, Braddock said.

The parking lot and camping area are closed during the winter, so to get to the springs people must park along Idaho 21 and walk several hundred feet.

Braddock, who said he had never encountered a scalping before, didn't think the victim would be able to grow new hair because the wound was so severe. Area dermatologists said Tuesday if the skin was removed at or under the base of the hair follicles, hair likely would not grow back.

High School Streaker Gets Up to 2 Years

TOWANDA, Pa. — A high school graduate was sentenced to up to two years in jail for streaking the graduation ceremony from which he had been excluded.

Russell Chmieleski, 18, pleaded guilty to first-degree indecent exposure and must serve six months to two years. Because the charge is a misdemeanor, he can stay in a county jail, rather than state prison.

The first-degree charge was made because children were in the crowd when Chmieleski ran across the football field where the graduation ceremony was held in June.

Police said Chmieleski was upset that school officials excluded him from the ceremony because he graduated in January.

Third grader suspended for taking butter knife in lunch

A King William County (VA) woman is questioning the county school district's zero-tolerance policy on weapons. Joyce Heath says her eight-year-old son returned to school yesterday after being suspended for seven days, because he carried a butter knife to school with his lunch.

Nicholas, a third-grader, had been suspended for ten days and faced the possibility of being placed in disciplinary classes for a year. But Heath met with School Superintendent Brenda Cowlbeck on Tuesday, and the suspension was lifted.

Heath said she packed a butter knife in her son's lunch along with a package of peanut butter and jelly on October first. She says Nicholas did not do anything threatening with the knife.

Home Fire Inspired By Movie, Beers, Man Says

'Day After Tomorrow,' Plus 9 Or 10 Beers, Led To Fire, Georgia Man Says

CORDELE, Ga. -- A Georgia man facing arson charges for burning his own home is blaming nine or 10 beers, and a disaster movie.

Charles Adams told Crisp County authorities he had been drinking while watching the movie "Day After Tomorrow."

Adams allegedly told deputies that after watching the special-effects extravaganza depicting deadly natural disasters caused by global warming, he decided to set fire to pillows on his bed.

The flames destroyed his doublewide mobile home.

Court Says Whales, Dolphins Cannot Sue Bush

The world's whales, porpoises and dolphins have no standing to sue President Bush over the U.S. Navy's use of sonar equipment that harms marine mammals, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, widely considered one of the most liberal and activist in the country, said it saw no reason why animals should not be allowed to sue but said they had not yet been granted that right.

"If Congress and the President intended to take the extraordinary step of authorizing animals as well as people and legal entities to sue they could and should have said so plainly," Judge William A. Fletcher wrote in an 18-page opinion for the panel.

The lawsuit was brought against Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on behalf The Cetacean Community -- defined as the world's whales, porpoises and dolphins -- by their self-appointed lawyer, marine mammal activist Lanny Sinkin.

Sinkin claimed in the lawsuit that the U.S. Navy had violated the Endangered Species Act with its use of long range, low frequency sonar that can cause tissue damage and other injuries to marine mammals.

Sinkin could not be reached for comment on the 9th Circuit's decision, which upheld a lower court ruling.

Texas dog survives Montana mountain adventure

BEVIL OAKS - A tiny dog from East Texas is back home after surviving a big adventure in the Montana wilderness.

Esther, a 10-month-old terrier mix, went missing for five days and nights after jumping out of her owner's truck to chase a group of elk.

She disappeared last week on the last day of Leonard "Bo" Tiemann's vacation with his wife.

He and a friend spent six hours searching for the puppy, but the couple eventually decided they couldn't further delay their 2,000-mile drive home.

Before leaving, Tiemann took off his coat and tied it to a tree near where Esther was last seen. He asked his friend to check every day to see if she'd returned, hoping she'd be drawn by his scent.

Tiemann heard nothing for days and was convinced Esther had frozen to death on the snow-covered mountains or fallen prey to a hungry animal.

But a Montana pilot who was hunting moose in the backcountry spotted a coyote on the hunt on Oct. 18. Looking closer, he saw Esther running for her life. The pilot shot the coyote and rescued Esther.

After feeding the thin and dirty dog his sandwich, he took her back to Lincoln, Mont., where word had spread that Esther was missing.

The pilot stopped at a convenience store, where a woman recognized Esther and called the Tiemann's friend.

Esther's journey still wasn't over, however.

Her trip home to Bevil Oaks, about 15 miles northwest of Beaumont, took her through four airports in Missoula, Mont., Salt Lake City, Dallas and Jefferson County.

The Tiemanns said they're thrilled to have their dog back. They even hosted a homecoming party in her honor, serving -- of all things -- barbecued bear meat.

"I know she's just a dog, but people get attached," Tiemann said in Monday's edition of The Beaumont Enterprise.

Border Inspectors Find Girl Sealed In Piñata

SAN DIEGO -- Inspectors checking the car of a smuggler at the U.S.-Mexican border found a girl hiding inside a piñata.

They said they've seen all kinds of attempts to smuggle people into the country, but this was an odd case.

Vince Bond of U.S. Customs and Border Protection said officers at the Tecate Port of Entry found the girl on Nov. 2 when they removed several piñatas from the car and one seemed much heavier than the others.

The girl, who is about 4 or 5 years old, was carefully sealed inside, but she was able to breathe. The girl's mother was curled up inside the car's trunk, and her brother, who is about 9, was underneath the collapsible back seat.

The three family members were voluntarily deported to Mexico. The driver and another passenger in the car, both American citizens, were not arrested.

Bond said the sheer volume of immigrant-smuggling cases far exceeds the government's ability to prosecute all smugglers.

Angry Woman Rams Wrong Car

A Washington state woman found out the hard way that a lot of mid-'80s budget compact cars look alike.

Theresa M. Wilson, 43, of Curtis, Wash., went to visit her ex-boyfriend early Tuesday morning — only to find him with another woman.

They got in a fight, and she stormed out.

About an hour later, she spotted what she thought was his maroon 1988 Chevrolet Spectrum driving ahead of her.

So she did what many scorned lovers might do — she rammed him.

After only two slams into the rear bumper, she forced the car ahead of her off the road.

Then the driver got out.

"Oh my God, oh my God. That's not my boyfriend," she thought, according to a Washington State Patrol trooper to whom she explained the incident.

It turned out the hapless driver had been driving a red 1987 Chevrolet Sprint, an Isuzu-manufactured hatchback marketed under the Chevrolet name that was very similar to the Spectrum, which was made by Suzuki.

Wilson was arrested on suspicion of vehicular assault. Both vehicles were damaged. There were no personal injuries.

Lava lamp left on hot stovetop explodes, killing man

KENT, Washington (AP) -- A man who placed a lava lamp on a hot stovetop was killed when it exploded and sent a shard of glass into his heart, police said.

Philip Quinn, 24, was found dead in his trailer home Sunday night by his parents.

"Why on earth he was heating a lava lamp on the stove, we don't know," Kent Police spokesman Paul Petersen said Monday.

After the lamp exploded, Quinn apparently stumbled into his bedroom, where he died Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Police found no evidence of drug or alcohol use.

Dogs killed after chewing police car

Police in Darwin (Australia) shot and killed two dogs that had attacked their car, biting through a tyre and tearing off a mudflap.

Two officers were threatened when they attended a property at Humpty Doo last night to investigate reports of "menacing" behaviour by dogs.

"A number of the animals turned their anger on the police vehicle," a police spokesman said.

"A tyre on the police sedan was bitten through and it deflated, a mudflap was torn off and teeth gouge marks were left in the front bumper surround.

"The two officers retreated to a safer area and fitted the spare tyre and in company with a senior officer, observed the dogs menacing other vehicles that were driving past."

The officers were again threatened as they attempted to enter the property on foot, but the dogs backed away after they were yelled at, he said.

"On approaching the door of the residence the dogs attacked once more and the officers shot and killed them," he said.

Palmerston police had spoken to the owners of the house and would be seeking compensation for the damage to the police vehicle, he said.

Taxi Driver Shoots Man in Bin Laden Mask

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica - Osama bin Laden take note: You wouldn't be safe in Costa Rica. A startled taxi driver shot and wounded a jokester wearing a plastic mask of the al-Qaida leader, police said Tuesday.

Leonel Arias, 47, told police he was playing a practical joke by donning the Bin Laden mask, toting his pellet rifle and jumping out to scare drivers on a narrow street in his hometown, Carrizal de Alajuela, about 20 miles north of San Jose.

Arias had startled several drivers that way on Monday afternoon. But when he jumped out in front of taxi driver Juan Pablo Sandoval, the motorist reached for a gun and shot him twice in the stomach. He was hospitalized in stable condition.

"For me and I think for anybody else at a time like that one thinks the worst and so I fired my gun," Sandoval told Channel 7 television.

Police declined to detain Sandoval, saying he had believed he was acting in self-defense.

Man dies after apparently encouraging friend to shoot him

A 20-year-old Orofino, Idaho man is dead after apparently daring a friend to shoot him through a protective vest.

Officials say Alexander Swandic died of a gunshot wound to the heart.

And his friend, 30-year-old David Hueth of Kamiah, is charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Police claim Swandic asked Hueth to shoot him. They apparently tested the vest by propping it against a dirt bank and firing at it twice, and the bullets didn't break through.

But when Swandic was shot after donning the vest, the bullet broke through the material and lodged in his heart.

Clearwater County Sheriff's Deputy Guy Cordle says the vest was designed to protect against grenade fragments, NOT bullets.

German Snow White Three Dwarves Short  

"Snow White and the Four Dwarves?" It doesn't have quite the same ring, but financial pressures being what they are, a German theater staged its version of the classic fairy tale, despite being short three cast members.

Some details just shouldn't be messed with. Everyone knows that Sleeping Beauty has three fairy godmothers, Cinderella has two wicked step-sisters, and Snow White lives with seven dwarves.

But in the eastern German town of Stendal, the pale princess had to make do with just four companions due to budget pressures at the town's Altmark theater.

The theater said it could only afford to pay six actors for its Christmas production of "Snow White," which led to protests from theater-goers who, naturally, expected to see seven dwarves.

In an attempt to stay true to the story, the theater attached two puppets in dwarf outfits to a background wall to give the production six dwarves. The actor playing the prince was meant to double as the seventh dwarf, but made only one brief appearance on stage.

Theater spokeswoman Suzanne Kreuzer improvised an explanation when queried about the seventh dwarf by the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung.

"The seventh dwarf wasn't on stage the whole time because he was stuck down in the mine working overtime," she told the paper.

Wacky Warning Labels

A toilet brush that warns users, “Do not use for personal hygiene” has been identified as the nation’s wackiest warning label in an annual contest sponsored by a consumer watchdog group.

The Wacky Warning Label Contest, now in it’s eighth year, is conducted by Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, M-LAW, to reveal how lawsuits, and concern about lawsuits, have created a need for common sense warnings on products.  ( http://www.mlaw.org/wwl/ )

Other Winners:

The second place award went to a label on a popular scooter for children that warns: “This product moves when used.”

Third place went to the following warning on a digital thermometer that can be used to take a person’s temperature several different ways: “Once used rectally, the thermometer should not be used orally.”

Fourth place was a label on an electric hand blender promoted for use in “blending, whipping, chopping and dicing,” that warns: “Never remove food or other items from the blades while the product is operating.”

In fifth place was a label on a nine- by three-inch bag of air used as packing material. It carries this warning: “Do not use this product as a toy, pillow, or flotation device.”

“Warning labels are a sign of our lawsuit-plagued times,” said Robert B. Dorigo Jones, M-LAW president. “From the moment we raise our head in the morning off pillows that bear those famous ‘Do Not Remove’ warnings, to when we drop back in bed at night, we are overwhelmed with warnings. Plaintiff’s lawyers who file the lawsuits that prompt these warnings argue they are making us safer, but the warnings have become so long that few of us read them anymore - even the ones we should read.”

"Go ahead - make my day!"

Clint Eastwood squinted like Dirty Harry Tuesday night (Jan. 10, 2005) as he took aim at Michael Moore.

"Michael Moore and I actually have a lot in common - we both appreciate living in a country where there's free expression," Eastwood told the star-dotted crowd attending the National Board of Review awards dinner at Tavern on the Green, where Eastwood picked up a Special Filmmaking Achievement prize for "Million Dollar Baby."

Then, the Republican-leaning actor/director advised the lefty filmmaker: "But, Michael, if you ever show up at my front door with a camera - I'll kill you."

The audience erupted in laughter, and Eastwood grinned dangerously.

"I mean it," he added, provoking more guffaws.

Sitting well out of range at a table in back, Moore - who received a special "Freedom of Expression" award for his anti-Bush polemic "Fahrenheit 9/11" - chuckled.

Naked Jogger Tasered, Arrested By Arkansas Police

WEST MEPHIS, Ark. -- Arkansas' naked jogger has been zapped.

For months, officers have been getting reports about a man making late-night runs in the buff. On Monday, police said they think they got their mystery jogger.

Fate Patterson, 39, of West Memphis, was arrested after he ran past a police car and failed to stop when he was ordered to do so by officers. Police chased him and were able to rein him in by using a Taser.

Patterson was charged with indecent exposure, fleeing and resisting arrest.

Mike Allen, assistant chief of the West Memphis police department, said that it did not initially appear that the man was mentally ill. He did not disclose his reasons for running without his clothes.

"You know, this one has just got me kind of speechless," said Allen.

More Nude News:

Career Day Speaker Tells Children Stripping Is Lucrative

An inspirational talk for middle-schoolers isn't what a popular speaker at a middle school's annual career day had in mind.

William Fried told eighth-graders in Palo Alto that stripping -- or exotic dancing -- could be a lucrative profession. He noted that strippers can make $250,000 a year or more.

He also said the exact amount of financial opportunity was directly proportional to the dancer's bust size.

Fried might not be invited back after giving the students at Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School that questionable career advice.

Fried is president of a management consulting firm. He gave nearly an hour-long talk to the kids at the Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School on "The Secret of a Happy Life."

Fried told students: "The truth of the matter is you can earn a tremendous amount of money as an exotic dancer, if that's your desire."

Fried has given his 55-minute talk to students for the past three years.

He also distributed a tip sheet that includes a list of 140 careers, ranging from accounting to wrestling, as well as exotic dancing and stripping.

Principal Joseph Di Salvo said he plans to send some apologetic letters home with students.

Fried said he doesn't think he offended anyone.

Dentist Finds 4-Inch Nail in Man's Skull

A dentist found the source of the toothache Patrick Lawler was complaining about on the roof of his mouth: a four-inch nail the construction worker had unknowingly embedded in his skull six days earlier.

A nail gun backfired on Lawler, 23, on Jan. 6 while working in Breckenridge, a ski resort town in the central Colorado mountains. The tool sent a nail into a piece of wood nearby, but Lawler didn't realize a second nail had shot through his mouth, said his sister.

Following the accident, Lawler had what he thought was a minor toothache and blurry vision. On Wednesday, after painkillers and ice didn't ease the pain, he went to a dental office where his wife, Katerina, works.

"We all are friends, so I thought the (dentists) were joking ... then the doctor came out and said 'There's really a nail,"' Katerina Lawler said. "Patrick just broke down. I mean, he had been eating ice cream to help the swelling."

He was taken to a suburban Denver hospital, where he underwent a four-hour surgery. The nail had plunged 11/2 inches into his brain, barely missing his right eye, Metcalse said.

"This is the second one we've seen in this hospital where the person was injured by the nail gun and didn't actually realize the nail had been embedded in their skull," neurosurgeon Sean Markey said. "But it's a pretty rare injury."

Lawler was recovering Sunday in the hospital, where he was expected to spend several more days.

"The doctors said, 'If you're going to have a nail in the brain, that's the way you want it to be,"' she said. "He's the luckiest guy, ever."

Woman Eats Six-Pound Hamburger

CLEARFIELD, Pa. (AP) -- Kate Stelnick may weigh only 100 pounds, but her appetite is remarkable. The college student from Princeton, N.J., is the first to meet a restaurant's challenge by downing its six-pound hamburger - and five pounds of fixins' - within three hours.

Stelnick didn't eat for two days to prepare for the challenge. "I felt very full, but I was too excited that I actually ate it to notice," Stelnick said.

Stelnick, 19, made the five-hour drive to Denny's Beer Barrel Pub with two friends from The College of New Jersey on Wednesday, after they saw pictures of the monster burger, dubbed the Ye Old 96er.

Denny Leigey Jr., the owner of the bar 35 miles northwest of State College, had offered a two-pound burger for years and conceived of the six-pounder after his daughter went to college and phoned him about a bar that sold a four-pounder.

But nobody had finished the big burger in the three-hour time limit since it was introduced on Super Bowl Sunday 1998. In addition to the meat, contestants much eat one large onion, two whole tomatoes, one half head of lettuce, 1 1/4 pounds of cheese, two buns, and a cup each of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, relish, banana peppers and some pickles.

Stelnick did it all in two hours, 54 minutes.

Leigey said he was pretty sure somebody would meet his burger challenge, though he didn't have a petite woman in mind.

"I wouldn't have made it if I didn't think it was possible," Leigey said.

*** STORIES POSTED JANUARY 2005: ***

Man Allegedly Slashes Friend In Argument Over Who Had Hairiest Buttocks

MANSFIELD TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- An argument between two friends over which one had the hairiest buttocks escalated into a brawl that ended when one man slashed the other.

Emmanuel Nieves, 23, of Liberty Township, and Erik Saporito, 21, of Independence Township, were talking with some other friends at a Mansfield Township apartment complex when the fight began early Wednesday. Nieves pulled out a knife and slashed Saporito's face and ear, authorities said. Saporito was taken to Hackettstown Community Hospital, where he was treated and released.

Nieves was arrested later that morning at his home and charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threats, weapons offenses and criminal mischief.

Bike accident sparks village brawl

A MOTORBIKE accident in central Vietnam erupted into a village brawl involving 2,500 people that left 17 injured and 20 homes damaged, police said.

A motorbike driver from Quynh Thach village was hit last Friday by a second bike carrying a Catholic priest and nun from a neighbouring village, said officer Pham Thao, from Quynh Luu District in Nghe An province, 240km south of Hanoi.

The two sides argued over compensation and the motorist threatened the nun with a knife, he said.

Word spread quickly in the largely Catholic village of Quynh Thanh that the nun and priest were being attacked, Thao said, and 30 to 40 people rushed to their rescue.

The motorist was backed up by fellow villagers in Quynh Thach and the crowd swelled to about 2500 people from both villages.

It took more than five hours for 80 policemen and 15 local government officials to separate the two groups, who threw bricks, rocks and sticks at each other, he said.

Raid leads to arrest of man rolling marijuana cigarettes with Bible pages

ATHENS, Ala. -- A raid at two mobile homes led to the arrest of 31-year-old Jesus Santana, who was caught rolling marijuana cigarettes with pages from a Bible, Limestone County authorities said.

"When we arrested him, he made the comment that `I guess God got y'all to get me,"' said Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely.

Santana and Rafael Chavez Pena, 46, both of Athens, were arrested Tuesday. Santana is charged with second-degree possession of marijuana and Pena is charged with first-degree possession of marijuana. Both men posted bond and were released from the Limestone County Jail.

Authorities said they seized three-quarters of a pound of marijuana from Pena and two small bags of marijuana from Santana.

'Tree defense' halted after fatal plunge

Santa Cruz forest activists have abandoned two "tree villages" near Corralitos in the wake of the death Tuesday of a tree sitter known only as Naya.

Authorities said Thursday they have not yet determined the full given name of the novice tree sitter, who plunged an estimated 120 feet when a rope net he was sitting in apparently gave way Tuesday evening.

Earth First Santa Cruz activist Dennis Davie said Naya arrived in Santa Cruz on Monday, climbed the tree -- dubbed Esperanza -- on Tuesday morning and fell Tuesday evening.

The 7-week-old tree-sit, organized by the Santa Cruz branch of Earth First, was intended to hinder logging in the rugged Ramsey Gulch area in south Santa Cruz County.

Davie said about two dozen "tree defenders" had taken turns sitting in the two tree villages, in which several tall trees are linked by aerial rope ladders and traverses.

Naya was alone when he fell from the 175-foot redwood and was found an hour or two later, badly injured but still conscious. He told rescue workers that his first name was Robert, that he was 25 years old and that his rope net had broken. The other sitter at the time was in a tree a half-mile away and unaware of his colleague's accident.

The accident follows a similar incident last year in which Jenna Griffith, a 20-year-old Earth First volunteer, sustained head injuries falling 30 feet from a tree near Boulder Creek. Griffith was hospitalized but recovered completely and is still active in Earth First, Davie said.

As of Thursday, Earth First was seeking anyone who knew Naya's given name, in hopes of contacting his family and arranging a memorial service.

"It's hard, because a lot of people within the movement only use their forest names," Davie said. "He was only in town for a few hours. We didn't really get a chance to get to know him."

Even the spelling of Naya's forest name is a mystery, Davie said.

"We just decided to spell it phonetically. We really don't know how he spelled it."

Trapeze Artist Attacks Rival with Castration Tongs

BERLIN - A lovesick 58-year-old German man was sentenced to seven years in jail after attacking a factory worker with a pair of bull castration tongs in the western town of Duesseldorf, a state court said on Friday.

The circus trapeze artist had tried to emasculate the man using the steel pincers after accusing him of having a relationship with his former girlfriend, a 46-year-old belly dancer who performed in the same circus.

The trapeze artist inflicted serious injury on the victim, who worked at a local factory, with the tongs and a knife in the February 2002 assault. But the factory worker was able to fight off the smaller attacker and prevent more serious injury.

"Fortunately the factory worker didn't lose anything -- except for a lot of blood," said Ulrich Tholer, spokesman for the Duesseldorf state court. The assailant was convicted of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm. He was also fired from the circus.

Man Complains Bad Rope Spoiled His Suicide

BUCHAREST - A Romanian man plans to complain to consumer authorities about the poor quality of a rope he used in a failed attempt to hang himself, Romanian papers reported Thursday.

"You can't even die in this country," 45-year-old Victor Dodoi was quoted as saying in the daily Adevarul.

The newspaper said Dodoi's relatives found him hanging from a tree in his garden and managed to cut the rope with a knife. He was taken by horse-drawn cart and then by ambulance to a hospital in the northern town of Botosani.

Dodoi said he would file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Authority about the quality of the rope, which was easily cut, as soon as he is released.

Sheep Head Breaks Music Fan's Skull

OSLO, Norway -- A flying sheep's head hit a concertgoer and fractured his skull at a concert of metal band Mayhem.

The band, part of Norway's death metal music scene, was carving up a dead sheep as part of its stage act when the animal's head flew off lead singer Maniac's knife and struck Per Kristian Hagen, 25.

The show was Thursday in Bergen, 487 kilometers (302 miles) west of the capital, Oslo.
"My relationship to sheep is a bit ambivalent now. I like them, but not when they come flying through the air," Hagen told The Associated Press Monday from his hospital room. "I have a headache now." He is expected to recover.

Hagen, a Mayhem fan, filed involuntary assault and battery charges against the band. The charges carry a maximum sentence of six months in prison.

Mayhem member Rune Eriksen, whose stage name is Blasphemer, said the incident was unfortunate.

"The whole thing was an accident, but maybe it would be an idea for another show," he said.

Eriksen promised Hagen a free ticket to the group's next performance.

Police detective Carl-Petter Leganger told the AP an investigation has started, but "nothing suggests this was a conscious act."

Protester gets right building

Olympia, WA -- This time, Jody Mason picked a more appropriate location to protest war with Iraq and President Bush's policies.

Mason was arrested Wednesday after he locked himself to a downtown office building that holds offices belonging to a few federal agencies, including the FBI, Olympia police spokesman Dick Machlan said.

On Tuesday, Mason mistakenly padlocked himself to the Washington State Grange building in an act of civil disobedience directed at the federal government. He thought the address belonged to the U.S. Department of Energy. The Grange is a nonprofit group that advocates for citizens in rural areas.

Mason spent about 18 hours Tuesday chained to a door until Grange employees informed him he had the wrong building.

Mason was cut loose by officers with heavy-duty bolt cutters because he didn't bring a key.

Mason was booked into the Olympia City Jail on Wednesday on suspicion of criminal trespassing, Machlan said.

Dog survives car injury, bullet to the head and freezer storage

A dog in California has survived being hit by a car, being shot in the head and being stuck in a freezer for two hours - all in the one day.

Dosha was first hit by a car in Clearlake and then shot by a police officer who was trying to put the animal out of its misery.

The dog was presumed dead and taken to an Animal Control centre, where she was put in a freezer.

However, a few hours later an official went to the freezer and found Dosha alive - but cold.

Animal groups have begun raising money to pay for her care.

PETA asks town to change its name

Hamburg, New York-AP -- An animal rights group doesn't care for the name of a western New York town. It thinks Hamburg should change its name to Veggieburg.

PETA says the name Hamburg "conjures up visions of unhealthy patties of ground-up dead cows."

It faxed a letter to the town supervisor offering to supply area schools with 15-thousand dollars worth of non-meat patties if Hamburg changes its name.

A PETA spokesman says the offer is "serious as a heart attack."

Hamburg Supervisor Patrick Hoak says no deal.

He says residents are "proud of our name and proud of our heritage."

The Buffalo suburb has been named Hamburg since 1812. It claims to be the birthplace of the hamburger, an event it commemorates with an annual Burgerfest.

Man stabbed with swordfish during fight

MADEIRA BEACH -- A fight between two men ended early Thursday when one man stabbed the other with the bill of a swordfish.

Frank J. Ashmus, 46, used the swordfish bill to stab Garth Spacek, 42, in the stomach as Spacek was beating Ashmus in the head with a beer bottle. Ashmus was charged with aggravated battery and remained in jail. Spacek also was charged with aggravated battery but was taken to the hospital, where he was listed in fair condition.

Spacek suffered a circular wound in his lower left abdomen, and Ashmus suffered head injuries that required stitches in several locations, according to arrest reports.

Woman guilty of iguana cruelty

A WOMAN who threw her iguana at a policeman was convicted of inflicting unnecessary suffering on the lizard but was permitted to keep him.

Susan Wallace, 47, had denied animal cruelty and assault, but admitted criminal damage to a window during a fracas on December 1 at The Anchor pub on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England.

The iguana, Igwig, apparently recovered, spent today at the Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court in Newport, reclining in a tank as witness testimony unfolded.

The drama began when Wallace - known locally as the Lizard Lady - was asked to leave the pub after putting the creature on the shoulders and heads of fellow drinkers.

"The first thing I knew was when one or two of the girls screamed and ran up to the other end of the bar," testified pub doorman John Rosenthal.

"They were pointing at the end of the bar where this woman was there with the animal, it was on her shoulder."

He said he twice asked Wallace to leave, then escorted her from the pub, where she threw the iguana at him twice - and kicked him.

"I was startled, but I don't lose my calm easily," Rosenthal went on.

Wallace then went to the police station at nearby Cowes where she became abusive to officer David Harry and threw the iguana at him. It missed and hit a filing cabinet, falling to the floor.

"She was extremely drunk," the policeman testified.

Wallace was convicted of two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to the iguana and one count of common assault.

Mexican mayhem: Suit says chihuahuas attacked city woman

A pack of up to five "medium-sized" chihuahuas attacked a Calgary woman, leaving her seriously injured, a $750,000 lawsuit claims.

Julianne Seguin says she was dropping off children at a Dover residence when she was mauled by the canines. "The dogs viciously and savagely attacked the plaintiff ... causing (her) to suffer grievous personal injury," says a statement of claim.

"As a direct result of the attack ... the plaintiff has sustained severe personal injuries which have necessitated medical care and treatment." Among the injuries were "multiple open wounds to her thighs, backside and legs (and) multiple contusions over her entire body," the lawsuit claims. Seguin also suffered "post-traumatic stress and anxiety. The plaintiff's injuries have been accompanied by pain, suffering and profound shock."

"As a result, the plaintiff has been unable to carry out her normal activities and her enjoyment of life has been lessened." The allegations of negligence also claim the owners failed to restrain or leash the animals knowing "that the dogs, unprovoked, may attack visitors."

Stupid Is …

A Monroe (Louisiana) man is recovering from a Thursday afternoon bullet wound to the leg, apparently self-inflicted, a police report states.

According to the reports, Chaddrick Dickson, 25, Monroe wanted to feed his dog gunpowder "to make him mean." So, the reports states, Dickson was trying to disassemble a .22-caliber bullet, holding it with a pair of pliers and striking it on the ground.

The bullet exploded, hitting Dickson just above the ankle. He was taken to St. Francis Medical Center to have the bullet removed.

Gadget converts woofs into words

Dr. Dolittle might have not have been able to get animals to talk so that other people could hear them, but perhaps Japanese toy maker Takara can.

The company on Thursday unveiled a gadget called Bowlingual, which scrutinizes and translates a dog's barks into expressions such as "I've had enough" or "I'm a little bored, let's play."

The gizmo was tested on a dog at the Tokyo Toy Show, an annual event featuring electronic games, collectibles and dolls from all over the world. The four-day event ends Sunday.

Bowlingual consists of a wireless microphone, which is attached to a dog's collar, and a terminal that analyzes and matches each "woof" with a set of preprogrammed phrases.

According to Takara, the device detects feelings--including happiness, frustration and sadness--and displays the associated expressions on the terminal's screen. Bowlingual can also be used to record a dog's mood throughout the day when owners are away from home.

A prototype of the device was unveiled last August with the intention of helping dog owners better comprehend their pets.

Bowlingual has a recommended retail price of $100 (12,800 yen). The company could not confirm commercial availability.

It's not known whether Takara is adapting the device to be used with cats.

(NOTE: Conan O’Brien was talking about this device… the dog just keeps asking, “Why did you neuter me? Why did you neuter me?”)

Rapper Fined for Hitting His Monkey

PARIS (Reuters) - A court fined French rapper Joey Starr 9,750 euros ($9,100) Wednesday after he hit his pet monkey on television, sparking a storm of protest from animal rights activists including former film star Brigitte Bardot.

Starr slapped the caged Barbary ape several times during a program recorded at his home in March by the M6 commercial channel, provoking a flood of complaints from viewers that alerted Bardot and other animal rights groups.

The court found Starr, whose real name is Didier Morville, guilty of maltreating an animal and illegally possessing a protected species. Barbary apes are found in bands in Algeria, Morocco and on the Rock of Gibraltar.

Starr has a number of convictions for violence, including assaults on an air hostess and on his partner.