Weird News

World's heaviest man gets a lift in custom van

MONTERREY, Mexico -- The world's heaviest man still can't walk, but he will soon be able to roll. Manuel Uribe said Thursday he is having a 1989 Chevrolet Astrovan outfitted to support his record-breaking weight, giving him mobility after more than six years of being confined to his bed. Uribe earned the Guinness World Record as the world's heaviest man in 2006, when he tipped the scales at 1,230 pounds. He claims to have since shed more than 500 pounds after making a public call for help.

Uribe, known as Meme to his friends, even has a name for his new ride. "My friends call it the Meme-Mobile, just like the Batmobile," he said.

The minivan is being converted into an open-air, flatbed pickup of sorts. Manuel says he will put a bed on the back of the van to drive around town, with his new wife at the wheel. When at home, he will hang out in a remodeled garage that will include a forklift to help raise his regular bed up to the level of his car bed, allowing him to switch locations from time to time. Uribe said that, with the new car, he plans to start up an auto parts business. And Uribe's wife, Claudia Solis, said the two are even thinking about making a trip to the beach in May.

Uribe married Solis in October, and the wedding was one of the few times he has left his home in recent years.
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LOL! I saw a pic of him the other month.. man is he FAT!!
 
Bye, deer! Colo. interstate shuts to shoo animals

EAGLE, Colo. -- A seven-mile stretch of a busy mountain interstate in Colorado was closed for more than an hour so wayward elk and deer could be herded off the highway median. State wildlife officials say eight elk and two deer spent nearly a week on a 100-yard-wide median of Interstate 70 about 120 miles west of Denver.

The road was closed Friday as more than 40 people and two dozen trucks from state and local police, highway and fire departments helped herd the animals through a hole that wildlife officers cut in a fence. Wildlife officers were worried that the animals would be struck and killed by traffic. Traffic was diverted onto a parallel highway.
 
Pa. driver sat through 6 lights, faces DUI charge

DILLSBURG, Pa. -- Police say horns started honking as a sport-utility vehicle sat through six green lights at a south-central Pennsylvania intersection. Officers arrived to investigate the SUV that seemed to be parked in the intersection, and found the driver asleep at the wheel, with his foot on the brake and a beer in the console.

Officers yelled to wake the man, then had to quickly halt the vehicle when his foot came off the brake and it drifted into the intersection Saturday night in Carroll Township, about 15 miles west of Harrisburg. The 41-year-old was charged with driving under the influence.
 
NY politician finds dead goat outside his home

PUTNAM LAKE, N.Y. -- A state assemblyman said he found a dead goat outside his suburban New York home and believes it represents a death threat against him. Republican Greg Ball said Friday he has been battling corruption in Putnam County and believes the threat comes from "entrenched interests" he would not name. State Police Sgt. Ted Daley says the incident is under investigation. He would not comment on any threat.

Ball said he found the goat Wednesday night with a sign around the animal's neck that said "Viva MS-13," designating a gang made up largely of Central American immigrants. Ball is a vocal opponent of illegal immigration but said he doubts MS-13 is the source. Ball has expressed interest in running for Congress.
 
Drunken Mich. man asks cop for hug, gets arrested

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Police said a drunken man was arrested after he cursed at an officer who refused to give him a hug. The Ann Arbor News reported the 44-year-old man had been yelling at people and walking in the street Thursday when officers responded. The man agreed to return to his home in Washtenaw County's Superior Township, about 30 miles west-southwest of Detroit.

But he then approached a patrol car and yelled at an officer, asking for a hug and swearing at him when the officer refused, while still blocking traffic. The man was arrested and detained. He refused a Breathalyzer test and may face disorderly conduct charges.
 
Utility sent Idaho couple wrong bill for 3 years

HAYDEN, Idaho -- A utility has reimbursed a northern Idaho couple nearly $2,000 after sending them someone else's gas bill for more than three years. Avista Corp. spokeswoman Debbie Simock said the company has also offered an apology to Don and Penny Fisher. "It was ridiculous," Don Fisher told the Coeur d'Alene Press. "Even in the hot months it was riding up and we were paying for it."

The Fishers said they built fires and bundled up but continued to get big gas bills for three years and three months. They said their inquiries to Avista didn't get results. "Argue, argue, argue," the couple said. They said they reported a fake gas leak in January to get a visit from a company representative, who discovered that meter readings in the subdivision had been crossed.

The Fishers said they had to skimp on three Christmases due to their nearly $500 in winter gas and electric bills. "It was ridiculous," Don Fisher said. "We could not be using that much gas." "We're very sorry that this happened," said Simock. "We're taking a look at our internal process to make sure this doesn't happen again." Simock said the company didn't have a report of a gas leak at the home, but instead sent someone to check on problems with the meter after getting details of the problem.

The Fishers said one of their bills was for $238, while the neighbor who was paying their bill was charged $28. "Everyone was wondering how they kept their house so warm," Don said. "And even they didn't know." Simock said that under Idaho Public Utilities Commission rules, Avista could bill the second customer for the last six months for energy used but not charged for. But she said the company is not going to bill that customer.

"Because the error was our fault, we are not going to rebill the customer for six months," she said. Spokane, Wash.-based Avista serves 121,000 electric and more than 93,000 natural gas customers in Idaho.
 
Speeder found in stolen car with stolen items, dog

KENNER, La. -- First of all, police said he was speeding. Second, the 18-year-old wasn't wearing a seat belt and was driving on a suspended license. But that was the least of his troubles. According to police, when the man was pulled over on Tuesday they found a marijuana cigarette. Then they found out the car he was driving was reported stolen. Then they found $27,000 worth of stolen goods in the car.

And when officers asked about the small dog on the front seat, the man could not tell them anything about it. But a call to the veterinarian listed on the dog's tag led to its owner, who said the pet had been stolen during a home burglary. Detectives were unsure if the suspect remained in jail Friday.
 
[quote1237055070=ErikStenger]
Malaysian mistakes woman for a monkey, shoots her

Police said a man in Malaysia shot his neighbor as she picked sapodilla fruit in his tree thinking she was a monkey. Police chief in eastern Pahang state Yahaya Othman said the woman was gathering fruit Thursday when her neighbor shot her. Yahaya said the man came home and saw rustling in the tree and fired into it. "Then there was screaming ... and only then did he know it was his neighbor."

He said the woman was hospitalized with a wound to the abdomen but her condition was stable Friday. He said police were investigating the man, a volunteer security corps member, for illegally discharging a firearm, which carries a maximum prison term of two years.
[/quote1237055070]
What an idiot!
 
Flag on the play: Man arrested in bleachers crash

DOLORES, Colo. -- A driver accused of spinning doughnuts on a Colorado high school football field and crashing into the empty bleachers drew a penalty flag from police. Nicholas Lee Himmel, 21, was arrested on suspicion of criminal mischief, careless driving and driving under the influence.

Police said he drove a pickup on to the Dolores High School football field, spun circles and then crashed into the visitors' bleachers at about 10 p.m. Saturday. No injuries were reported but Dolores Public Schools business manager Karen Andrews estimates the damage at $18,000. No phone number could be found for Himmel and a Montezuma County jail officer didn't immediately return a call.
 
Wash. man caught in HOV lane with unbuckled dummy

BELLEVUE, Wash. -- You forgot to buckle up, dummy! A commuter who put a homemade dummy in the passenger seat to sneak into the car pool lane was caught Wednesday near Seattle. But it wasn't because a cop realized the passenger was fake. Instead, the State Patrol trooper noticed the dangling belt buckle on the passenger side and suspected a seat belt violation.

Patrol spokeswoman Christina Martin told The Herald of Everett that the driver acknowledged trying to beat traffic by using the HOV lane. He created his passenger by draping a rain jacket over plastic piping, topping it off with a Halloween mask of Gandalf, the "Lord of the Rings" wizard, a beard and a baseball cap. The trooper issued a $124 ticket and confiscated the dummy.
 
Man unwisely tries to rob Tae Kwon Do studio

FOX POINT, Wis. -- A robber gets more than he bargained for when he targeted a Tae Kwon Do studio in suburban Milwaukee. The robber thought he could quietly slip in and out of David Kang's studio in Fox Point with some loot. What he didn't realize is that he would encounter a Tae Kwon Do master who wasn't about to let him off the hook.

Kang was giving a private lesson Tuesday and heard someone in his office. Kang found the man going through his closet, grabbed him by the neck and sat him down while he called police. The robber took off and Kang gave chase, finally catching up with the man and holding him by the neck until police arrived.
 
Vt. hunter busted for bolting antlers on dead doe

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- A man who bolted antlers to the head of a dead doe and posed for a photograph with the deer was fined $400 and jailed for game violations. Marcel Fournier, 19, shot the deer the evening of Nov. 22 and used lag bolts and epoxy to attach a 10-point rack, officials said. He then checked in the kill as lawful game at Barnie's Market. It's illegal to kill an antlerless deer, and it's also illegal to hunt at night.

The Concord resident admitted to the killing and led a game warden to the deer's remains after an anonymous caller alerted authorities. Fournier said he had "quite a time" drilling and fastening the antlers, authorities said. Game warden David Gregory said the antlers didn't look or feel right. "When you grabbed them, you'd feel movement," he said.

Col. David LeCours, chief warden of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the size of the antlers relative to the size of the deer seemed off. "Something wasn't natural about them, in addition to the fact that they weren't natural," he said. Fournier was sentenced to 10 days in jail Feb. 18 for taking a deer in a closed season. He won't qualify for a state hunting, fishing or trapping license for at least three years.

LeCours said add-on antlers are the stuff of legend, but that it's the first documented case of it in Vermont.
 
La. police arrested growling man on drug charges

MANSFIELD, La. -- Authorities arrested a 32-year-old Texas man on drug charges on Thursday after construction workers saw him on his hands and knees, eating mud and growling like a dog. A woman who accompanied the man from Texas told investigators he had been wandering around the complex and eating dog food.

Sheriff's Lt. Horace Womack said a small bottle of PCP, a half-pound of marijuana and one-fourth ounce of crack cocaine were seized during the man's arrest. The man was booked with possessing all three drugs with intent to distribute them. He was placed in a cell where jailers at the DeSoto Detention Center could keep an eye on him.
 
My name is Rip Van Winkle and I can't sleep

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- An Oregon man says people usually think he's joking when he introduces himself as Rip Van Winkle. But that's the name on his birth certificate. Really. Van Winkle told the Corvallis Gazette Times that his father and grandfather were nicknamed Rip, but his dad made things official for his son, figuring the nickname would eventually stick to him too. Now, he has a little fun with it.

"I went to the doctor's office," the 37-year-old contractor said. "My name is Rip Van Winkle, and I can't sleep." He owns and operates Rip Van Winkle Residential Contract and Repair, and prides himself on being able to fix almost anything. Van Winkle said he would never change things. "It's cool, because you get a chance to be yourself," he said. "How many Rip Van Winkles do you meet?"
 
Mich. county wants no-hitchhiker signs to hit road

JACKSON, Mich. -- Jackson County officials say signs warning motorists not to pick up hitchhikers give the wrong impression about the area, which is home to some state prisons. The county Board of Commissioners called Tuesday for the Michigan Department of Transportation to remove the signs, which were posted in the early 1980s.

Sheriff Dan Heyns says: "Let's roll out a welcome mat instead of signs that scare the heck out of people." The state Department of Corrections says the signs were posted after there were a number of escapes from area prison camps, where prisoners worked in unfenced fields. The problem has since subsided. The Department of Transportation says it will consider removing signs once it gets a formal request.
 
Inmate complains of pain and makes daring escape

ST. LOUIS -- An inmate who complained about chest pain made a daring escape from authorities from a hospital in St. Charles. Lincoln County spokesman Andy Binder said a 24-year-old man was being transported to jail in Lincoln County when he complained of chest pains on Monday. He was taken to a St. Charles hospital to be checked out.

Binder said the inmate was shackled at his hospital bed when his girlfriend caused a distraction in the hallway Tuesday night. When a corrections officer left the hospital room to talk to her, the man ripped his shackles off the post, locked himself in the bathroom, and managed to escape.

He's still on the run.
 
California town to spray-paint lawn bald spots

PERRIS, Calif. -- A town is going green to combat foreclosure blight: A contractor has been hired to spray-paint lawn bald spots. Perris spokesman Joe Vargo said contractor Dave Milligan uses an environmentally friendly dye that lasts up to six months and is harmless to people and pets. The city hopes the foreclosed properties are purchased and occupied before the lawn needs a touchup.

It costs about $550 to spray-paint a lawn. The city, some 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles, has set aside $2 million in an effort to stabilize foreclosure-fraught neighborhoods.
 
Jurors mull woman's urination discrimination claim

NORFOLK, Va. -- Jurors in Norfolk are deliberating the discrimination case of a female dock worker who was punished by her union for urinating on the job when a male co-worker who also relieved himself wasn't. The U.S. District Court jury began deliberations Wednesday in the case of Sonyo Tillett-Bond, who was told to go home after the Oct. 5, 2006, incident at the Portsmouth port.

The 48-year-old woman is seeking damages totaling $300,000 from the International Longshoremen's Association Local 1458.
Her supervisor sent Tillett-Bond home after he heard of the urination incident because of fears of sexual harassment. While she was eventually reinstated by the union, her male co-worker was not punished.
 
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