Harp's Blog

1 hour, 40 minutes ago

A Grafton woman has been arrested and booked for failing to pay her library fines. Heidi Dalibor, 20, told the News Graphic in Cedarburg she ignored the library's calls and letters as well as a notice to appear in court.

Still, she was surprised when officers with a warrant knocked on her door, cuffed her and took her to the police station to be fingerprinted and photographed.

Police Capt. Joe Gabrish saied officers follow the same procedure with every warrant.

Library director John Hanson said a couple of dozen people are cited each year for failure to return materials or pay fines.

The incident cost Dalibor about $30 for the overdue paperbacks "White Oleander" and "Angels and Demons" and her mother nearly $172 to get her out of custody.

1 hour, 40 minutes ago

A 22-year-old man was back behind bars about 12 hours after he was released from jail, accused of stealing a car and beer and leading police on a high-speed chase.

Darren E. Roberts was released from the Sullivan County Jail Tuesday afternoon after competing his sentence for auto theft.

But Indiana State Police say that early Wednesday morning, Roberts stole a 2004 red Ford Mustang in Linton, then drove to a gas station in Cloverdale where he allegedly stole some beer and fled.

Police chased the red Mustang at speeds of up to 105 mph on Interstate 70, until the car spun out and Roberts surrendered.

He's now being held in the Putnam County Jail without bond on a variety of charges. It's not immediately known if he has an attorney.

I not understand why thay not get it into a water something and take it out to were other whales are..Gee at lease give it a chance to live help it...

Australian officials to euthanize baby whale

By KRISTEN GELINEAU, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 8 minutes ago

An abandoned baby whale that has been attempting to suckle boats in the waters off north Sydney will be euthanized because it is in such poor condition, an environmental official said Thursday.

Veterinarians and marine researchers who spent the afternoon examining the whale found that it would likely not live through the night, said Sally Barnes, deputy director-general of the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change.

"The calf was in much worse condition than they originally thought and the injuries were a lot worse than they thought as well, probably from a shark attack," she said. "We have taken the hard decision to put it down, unfortunately."

The plight of the whale, which Australians have nicknamed "Colin," has dominated news coverage here since it was first sighted Sunday and began trying to suckle from boats it apparently mistook for its mother.

"Our hearts are breaking with what's happening with baby Colin," New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma said. "It's looking bleak, but every effort is being made."

One effort came from Aboriginal whale whisperer Bunna Lawrie, who visited the calf Thursday afternoon. Adorned with feathers on his head and white paint markings on his face, Lawrie reached into the water to stroke Colin while singing a humming, tongue-rolling tune.

But after a few minutes the whale swam away to nuzzle a nearby yacht.

"He's missing the big fellas," said Lawrie, whose visit was broadcast on Channel 10 television.

The decision to euthanize the whale prompted a strong protest from a rescue group that designed a feeding apparatus intended to provide milk to the ailing calf.

"You said you'd give us a 24-hour stay of execution!" Brett Devine, a member of Devine Marine Group, shouted as environmental officials tried to calm him.

Some Australians have accused wildlife officials of not doing enough to help the calf or trying to feed it.

Previous attempts to guide the whale back to open waters have failed, with the creature preferring to stick close to the boats. Officials with the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service were considering earlier Thursday whether to use an inflatable sling to tow the creature into deeper waters, where it has a better chance of connecting with other whales.

But in the end, there simply was no other option, a grim-looking Barnes said.

"This is certainly not what we would have hoped. We would have hoped that the animal would have been OK," Barnes said. "It's a very emotional thing."

As darkness fell, wildlife officials and veterinarians huddled in a private meeting to work out the logistics of the whale's fate.

They planned to sedate the animal, tow it to shore, and inject a dose of fatal drugs into its heart.

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The baby, weighing only 600 grams at birth, spent at least five hours inside one of the hospital's refrigerated storage units, before her parents, who had taken her to be buried, began noticing some movement.

"We unwrapped her and felt she was moving. We didn't believe it at first. Then she began holding my mother's hand, and then we saw her open her mouth," said 26-year-old Faiza Magdoub, the baby's mother.

The baby was pronounced dead several hours earlier, after doctors at Western Galilee hospital in northern Israel were forced to abort her mother's pregnancy because of internal bleeding. Magdoub was 23 weeks into her pregnancy.

"We don't know how to explain this, so when we don't know how to explain things in the medical world we call it a miracle, and this is probably what happened," hospital deputy director Moshe Daniel said.

The baby was then taken to the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit for further treatment, but doctors were not sure how long she will live.

Motti Ravid, a professor of internal medicine, told Israel's Channel 10 that the low temperature inside the cooler had slowed down the baby's metabolism and likely helped her survive.

(Writing by Avida Landau, Editing by Mike Collett-White)

Sprinkles Cupcakes, a California purveyor of mini-cakes beloved by Hollywood stars, has accused rival Famous Cupcakes of stealing its trademarked "Modern Dot" cupcake design to lure away clientele.

Sprinkles high-end pastries have made the rounds of U.S. media, from "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to "Nightline," drawing locals and out-of-towners who regularly wait in long lines outside the company's Beverly Hills store.

The company, which also runs stores in Texas and Arizona, accused Famous Cupcakes in a federal lawsuit filed on Thursday in Los Angeles of incorporating the "nested circle design" featured on Sprinkles cupcakes on Famous Cupcakes packaging, store decor, and "each and every page" of its website.

Unlike other cupcake imitators around the world who ceased using "Modern Dot" after being caught by Sprinkles, Famous Cupcakes has not responded to repeated requests to "promptly stop using its trademarked design," the lawsuit said.

The owner of Famous Cupcakes, who said on its website she began selling cupcakes door-to-door at age 7 and believes "one cupcake is never enough," could not be reached for comment.

(Reporting by Gina Keating; Editing by Braden Reddall)

Thu Aug 21, 1:08 AM ET

There are loyal customers, and then there's Joseph Macko.

The 84-year-old Flint man has bought or leased a new Cadillac every year since 1955, the year Disneyland opened in Anaheim, Calif., and Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus.

"You only live one time. Money is to spend," he told The Flint Journal. "I spend it once I get it."

Macko, a retired General Motors Corp. worker, used to buy a new car every year, but he's been leasing the last few years. Last week, he drove home this year's fresh set of wheels — a black 2009 Cadillac DTS — from the Al Serra Auto Plaza in Grand Blanc.

"He looks forward every year to buying a new car," said Gordon Taylor, who has been Macko's salesman for 22 years. "He wants that same vehicle."

Marcella Macko says her husband isn't the spendthrift he might seem — he saves up all year to pay for a new car.

But, she said, she just doesn't get excited anymore about the annual ritual.

"He does, but I don't," she said.

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Wed Aug 20, 9:01 PM ET

You've heard of man bites dog. What about, dog saves cats? A two-year-old dog that had been turned over to the Nevada Humane Society's shelter in Reno is being credited with rescuing six abandoned kittens.

Shelter Director Diane Blankenburg said it happened Monday while the two-year-old Boxer/Pit Bull mix named Angel was on a walk with a pair of volunteers, Frank Gomez and his 9-year-old stepson, Joel Fontes.

They were walking on the hot day with temperatures in the 90s when the dog became obsessed with something in the bushes. When she refused to move on, Gomez investigated and discovered a box full of 3-week-old orange tabby kittens that were frightened and hungry.

One of the abandoned kittens escaped before shelter staff were summoned to the scene, but Angel tracked it down and Gomez handed it over to safety.

By JUANITA COUSINS, Associated Press WriterTue Aug 19, 7:12 PM ET

Turns out Bigfoot was just a rubber suit. Two researchers on a quest to prove the existence of Bigfoot say that the carcass encased in a block of ice — handed over to them for an undisclosed sum by two men who claimed to have found it — was slowly thawed out, and discovered to be a rubber gorilla outfit.

The revelation comes just days after a much ballyhooed news conference was held in California to proclaim that the remains of the creature found in the North Georgia mountains was the legendary man-ape.

Steve Kulls, executive director of squatchdetective.com and host of Squatchdetective Radio, says in a posting on a Web site run by Bigfoot researcher Tom Biscardi that as the "evidence" was thawed, the claim began to unravel as a giant hoax.

First, the hair sample was burned and "melted into a ball uncharacteristic of hair," Kulls said in the posting.

The thawing process was sped up and the exposed head was found to be "unusually hollow in one small section." An hour of thawing later and the feet were exposed — and they were found to be made of rubber.

Matt Whitton, an officer who has been on medical leave from the Clayton County Police Department, and Rick Dyer, a former Georgia corrections officer, announced the find in early July on YouTube videos and a Web site.

"Everyone who has talked down to us is going to eat their words," Whitton said at the time.

Phone calls to Whitton and Dyer went unreturned on Tuesday. But the voicemail recording for their Bigfoot Tip Line — which proclaims they search for leprechauns and the Loch Ness monster — has been updated and announcing they're also in search of "big cats and dinosaurs. If you see any of those, give us a call."

On Tuesday, Clayton County Police Chief Jeff Turner said he has not spoken to Whitton but processed paperwork to fire him.

"Once he perpetrated a fraud, that goes into his credibility and integrity," Turner said. "He has violated the duty of a police officer."

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Tue Aug 19

A Puerto Rican man has been granted his wish to remain standing — even in death.

A funeral home used a special embalming treatment to keep the corpse of 24-year-old Angel Pantoja Medina standing upright for his three-day wake.

Dressed in a Yankees baseball cap and sunglasses, Pantoja was mourned by relatives while propped upright in his mother's living room.

His brother Carlos told the El Nuevo Dia newspaper the victim had long said he wanted to be upright for his own wake: "He wanted to be happy, standing."

The owner of the Marin Funeral Home, Damaris Marin, told The Associated Press the mother asked him to fulfill her dead son's last wish.

Pantoja was found dead Friday underneath a bridge in San Juan and buried Monday. Police are investigating.

Dog dies after traffic cop apathetic to owner's pleas THIS MAKES Me MAD NO REASON TO DETAIN THEM  

SAN MARCOS, Texas -- A police officer was accused of inappropriate behavior after his misconduct may have resulted in a dog's death, ABC News reported.

Officer Paul Stephens pulled over Michael Gonzalez for speeding at 100 miles an hour down an interstate highway, prompting the driver to get out of the car, saying, "He's dying."

Gonzales and his girlfriend Krystal Hernandez explained that they were speeding to reach a veterinary clinic because their pet poodle Missy was choking.

The dashboard camera of the police car shows Officer Stephens yelling and criticizing the couple for putting other people's lives at risk for a dog.

"You're driving down the highway at 100 per hour," he said. "It's a dog, it's OK. You can get another one. Relax."

Stephens kept Gonzalez on the roadside for 15 minutes. The dog died as the couple waited for Stephens to issue a citation.

The couple tried to convince the officers several different ways to allow them to save their pet, KWTX Channel 10 News reported.

Gonzalez and Hernandez said they begged Stephens to let them go to the vet and turn themselves in for the speeding ticket later.

Gonzalez also offered to stay behind with the officer while Hernandez took the dog to the vet.

But Stephens ignored their pleas.

Police supervisors called the incident a "rookie mistake" and did not found Stephens guilty of any misconduct.

"This was not our finest hour," said San Marcos Police Chief Howard Williams.

However, Williams did say that Stephens behavior was less than stellar.

"His world was collapsing. And what the officer says to him, basically, is, 'I don't care,'" Williams said.

Earlier this week, a police officer in Arizona was acquitted of charges of animal cruelty after leaving a police dog in a patrol car for 13 hours on a hot day last summer, the Associated Press reported.

Recent examples of police misconduct towards people are unfortunately no less appalling and usually include the use of tasers.

Police in South Carolina punched a teenage boy 13 times in the face before tasering him as he lay prone on the ground.

Police tasered an injured teen from Ozark, Missouri up to 19 times after he fell from a highway overpass in late July.

The 16-year-old had broken his back and heel when the officers began tasering him.

In yet another bizarre instance of police violence, a 66-year-old minister was tasered and beaten by hospital security guards for what he claims was a joke.

In that incident, hospital security cameras caught five officers kicking Rev. Al Poisson on the ground for at least five minutes.

Mon Aug 18, 19 minutes ago

Colo. residents debate cow and bear confrontation

A curious cow and a young wild bear touched noses and hung out together in a pasture before the bear dashed off with the cow in pursuit, neighbors said. But whether the cow was chasing off the bear or just wanted to play is a matter of debate.

Residents of this rural town about 30 miles northwest of Denver say the encounter took place Sunday after the bear climbed into an apple tree in the cow's pasture and then climbed down.

The cow is named Apple because she loves eating the fruit of that very tree, said her owner, Nancy Dayton, who describes Apple as more pet than livestock.

Apple ambled over for a look, said Penny Cox of Hygiene, who witnessed the get-together.

"The cow, she thinks she's a dog, so she's interested in everything," Cox said.

Eventually the bear took off with Apple running after it.

"We really can't say whether she chased him away or wanted him to play," Cox said.

Dayton, who didn't witness the confrontation, thinks Apple may have wanted the bear to vamoose.

"We kind of joke she was defending her tree," she said.

Dayton said Apple weighs about 1,200 pounds. There's no sign either animal was hurt.

3 minutes ago

A Kentucky sheriff drove 4,100 miles to California to pick up a fugitive, then realized when he got back he had the wrong guy.

Butler County Sheriff Joe Gaddie and a deputy took the trip to find a man named Joe Oros, who was wanted on charges of fleeing and evading police and drunken driving.

A man named Joe Oros was awaiting release from a prison in Tehachapi, Calif., when a check showed an outstanding warrant in Kentucky. Officials notified Gaddie, who came and got him.

It turned out to be a case of stolen identity. Gaddie says a check of mugshots and fingerprints showed the man wanted in Kentucky had stolen Joe Oros' identity.

After finding the mistake, Butler County officials paid for Oros to fly back to California. Meanwhile, the real suspect they were searching for is still on the lam.

THIS IS SO FUNNY THE PRICE OF GAS WEAR AND TEAR ON THE CAR FOOD TO FEED THE SHERIFF AND DEPUTY AND THE WRONG GUY PRICLESS...LOL

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Information from: Daily News, http://www.bgdailynews.com;

The Courier-Journal http://www.courierjournal.com

By KRISTEN GELINEAU, Associated Press WriterMon

Life can get a little lonely for bachelors in the Australian Outback mining town of Mount Isa. So the mayor has offered up a solution: recruit ugly women.

Mayor John Molony found himself under attack Monday over comments he made to a local newspaper that read: "May I suggest if there are five blokes to every girl, we should find out where there are beauty-disadvantaged women and ask them to proceed to Mount Isa."

The mayor added that many women who already live in the remote Queensland state town seem quite happy.

"Quite often you will see walking down the street a lass who is not so attractive with a wide smile on her face," he continued. "Whether it is recollection of something previous or anticipation for the next evening, there is a degree of happiness."

The quotes, published Saturday in the Townsville Bulletin, sparked outrage among the town's female population, led to furious online debates and drew criticism from the local chamber of commerce.

"There's a lot of anger circulating among the community at the moment — a lot of passionate anger," Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce manager Patricia O'Callaghan said Monday. "There's a lot of women voicing their opinions."

Molony declined to elaborate on his comments Monday except to say they were "twisted and warped" by the newspaper.

"I've been shredded," he added, before hanging up the phone.

The situation may not be quite as dire as Molony noted. According to the 2006 census, males made up 52.6 percent of the town's population of nearly 20,000.

And several local women said there aren't a lot of gems to be found among Mount Isa's men, either.

"We've got a saying up here that the odds are good, but the goods are odd," 27-year-old Anna Warrick told The Brisbane Times.

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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