Boston Herald - Boston Herald

Mass. couple's 2001 message in a bottle found

Associated Press — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:09:43 -0400

REHOBOTH, Mass. — A message sealed in a champagne bottle and tossed into the waters off Tampa, Fla., more than a decade ago by a Massachusetts couple celebrating their engagement has been found.

Karl and Michelle Kimmell of Rehoboth say occasionally they would wonder if anyone had found the message they cast away in August 2001. The message, announcing their engagement, had just their first names and a post office box in Attleboro.

Michael Souvigny found the bottle in February along the St. John's River in Green Cove Springs, Fla.

Excuse me! Can we get some service?

Mike Pingree — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Four American tourists thought it would be fun to have dinner on an iceberg, which is part of the Fjallsarlon glacial lagoon in Iceland. Then suddenly the wind came up and started to push the ice they were sitting on away from shore. Emergency responders arrived to find them sitting around a table on the ice awaiting rescue.

NOW WHAT AM I GOING TO DO FOR MONEY? … OH, I KNOW! … A teenager quit his job at a Target store in Hicksville, N.Y., then went out into the parking lot and robbed a young couple.

Bear with head stuck in jar is rescued in Pa.

Associated Press — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:47:29 -0400

JAMISON CITY, Pa. — Four central Pennsylvania residents said they used only a rope and a flashlight during a wild chase to rescue a young bear whose head had been stuck in a plastic jar for at least 11 days.

The frightened but powerful bruin fell into a swimming pool at least twice during the ordeal, according to a report Saturday in the Press Enterprise of Bloomsburg (http://bit.ly/166z97k ). But the group eventually yanked off the jar and set the animal free.

Czechs present bicycle that can fly

Associated Press — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:51:37 -0400

PRAGUE — Is it a bike? Is it a plane?

Three Czech companies have teamed up to make a prototype of an electric bicycle that successfully took off Wednesday inside an exhibition hall in Prague and landed safely after a remote-controlled, five-minute flight.

Looking like a heavy mountain bike, it weighs 95 kilograms (209 pounds). It has two battery-power propellers in the front, two in the back and one each on the sides.

A dummy rode in the saddle.

Group wants to knit cover for Pa. Warhol bridge

Associated Press — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:39:43 -0400

PITTSBURGH — Andy Warhol's art doesn't often conjure warm and fuzzy images — but a proposed tribute to him just might.

An arts group wants to cover a downtown Pittsburgh bridge named for Warhol with knitted blankets.

Allegheny County Council must sign off on the plan. But if it goes forward, the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh will use machine-knitted blankets to cover the bridge's towering superstructure while individual blankets knitted by more than 1,200 volunteers will be used to cover its walkways.

Texas couple completes bucket list with Maine trip

Associated Press — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:31:28 -0400

AUGUSTA, Maine — A Texas couple has fulfilled a lifelong dream by visiting Maine to watch the state Legislature at work. Seriously.

The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/18mLCbP ) reports that 86-year-old Marcine Webb and his wife, 81-year-old Nita Lou Webb, were in Augusta last week to complete their quest to visit every state capitol. Maine's was the last one.

When House Speaker Mark Eves announced the reason for their visit, the state representatives stood and cheered.

TSA agents stop Chewbacca actor over light saber

Associated Press — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 16:05:56 -0400

DENVER — Not even Chewbacca and his light saber get a free pass with airport security before being cleared to travel.

Transportation Security Administration agents in Denver briefly stopped "Star Wars" franchise actor Peter Mayhew recently as he was boarding a flight with a cane shaped like one of science-fiction's most iconic weapons.

Airport officials say they wanted to inspect the huge walking stick before allowing Mayhew, who is more than 7 feet tall, on the plane.

Fla. deputy removes Doritos bag from deer's head

Associated Press — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 13:42:16 -0400

BIG PINE KEY, Fla. — A deer in the Florida Keys is breathing more easily after a deputy removed a Doritos bag from its head.

The Monroe County sheriff's deputy discovered the Key deer while on patrol late Saturday evening. Its entire head was stuck in the chips bag.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Becky Herrin says the deer allowed the deputy to remove the bag without a struggle.

Swedish male train drivers wear skirts to work

Associated Press — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 12:14:07 -0400

STOCKHOLM — Commuters on a train line in northern Stockholm were met with an unusual sight this week: male train drivers and conductors wearing skirts to work.

Train driver Martin Akersten says he and more than a dozen others at the Roslagsbanan line have started wearing skirts in the summer as a protest against the train company's uniform policy, which doesn't allow shorts.

The 30-year-old Akersten said Sunday the response from customers has been only positive.

OK, just get out of the car and nobody will get hurt – AIEEEE!

Mike Pingree — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

A man tried to carjack an SUV, pounding on the windows as the owner’s wife pulled into the driveway of her Stockton, Calif., home. Her husband, a professional mixed martial arts fighter, leapt out of the passenger seat, and gave the guy a pounding he won’t soon forget.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN ROXANNE ISN’T HERE!? … A man went to a home in Casselberry, Fla., to propose to his girlfriend. To enhance the experience for one and all, he stripped off all of his clothes on the back patio. That’s when he found out he was at the wrong house.

Runner's pain is no pulled muscle; it's a baby

Associated Press — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 17:38:26 -0400

DULUTH, Minn. — An aspiring half-marathon runner in Minnesota attributed her unbearable back pain to a two-hour training session. A day later, she was cradling a newborn.

Trish Staine, 33, says she had no idea she was pregnant before Monday's surprise birth. The Duluth mother of three said she hadn't gained any weight or felt fetal movement in the months before. And besides, her husband had a vasectomy.

"I said 'no, no, that's impossible,' " Staine said Wednesday from her Duluth hospital room.

Studio to comb N.M. landfill for bad Atari games

Associated Press — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 17:10:41 -0400

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. — A New Mexico city commission agreed to allow a Canadian studio to search a landfill where old, terrible Atari games are rumored to be buried.

Alamogordo commissioners decided last week that they will allow Fuel Industries to search the landfill for games, according to The Alamogordo Daily News (http://bit.ly/1aPRzKe). The company has offices in Ontario and Culver City, Calif.

Man demands burger during Holyoke restaurant heist

Associated Press — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 08:34:57 -0400

HOLYOKE, Mass. — Police are looking for a man they say walked into a Holyoke burger joint and ordered a cheeseburger, with a side of cash.

A department spokesman says a suspect entered the Burger King at about 10:30 p.m. Monday and ordered the sandwich and "all the money in the drawer."

He made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The thief did not show a weapon, but police say it was implied he was armed because he kept his hands in his pockets.

Law change kills Germany's longest word

Associated Press — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 14:46:36 -0400

BERLIN — A tweak to state laws in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to conform with current EU regulations has caused an unexpected casualty: the longest word in the German language.

The Rindfleischetikettierungsueberwachungsaufgabenuebertragungsgesetz is no more.

The "law delegating beef label monitoring" was introduced by the state in 1999 as part of measures against mad cow disease. But the dpa news agency reported Monday the law was removed from the books last week because European Union regulations have changed.

Cat detained on illegal mission at Russian prison

Associated Press — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:56:00 -0400

MOSCOW — Inmates at Russia's prisons have been known to bribe guards to obtain cellphones, but this may be the first time they have used a cat as an accomplice.

Guards patrolling a prison colony in Russia's north saw a cat on the fence and it seemed to be carrying something. On a closer look, they found a few cellphones and chargers taped to the cat's belly.

The federal prison service said Monday that this happened on Friday at the Penal Colony No. 1 near the city of Syktyvkar in the Komi province, some 600 miles northeast of Moscow.

My God! Where did all the cops come from?

Mike Pingree — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

After being pulled over by police in St. Louis, an intoxicated man jumped out of his car and tried to elude the officers on foot. He ran into a building which, to his dismay, turned out to be police headquarters. Officers inside arrested him when they saw him, much to their surprise, running toward them at full gallop.

Wrong number turns right for ailing NJ woman

Associated Press — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 16:04:11 -0400

ROCHELLE PARK, N.J. — Authorities say a Massachusetts rug store worker misdialed when trying to call a New Jersey wholesale company and instead reached an elderly woman who told him she was having a heart attack.

But after several anxious minutes of trying to locate and help her, it turned out the woman was safe.

The Record (http://bit.ly/15ru8FS) reports that Sachin Baidya, who works for the Dover Rug Co. in Natick, thought he was calling a customer service representative he often deals with at Nourison Industries in Saddle Brook.

'Bucket list' item leads to women's arrest in Fla.

Associated Press — Fri, 31 May 2013 06:53:06 -0400

OCALA, Fla. — Two longtime friends ended up in jail in central Florida thanks to a "bucket list" that included stealing from a store.

Police say 36-year-old Andrea Mobley and 38-year-old Jennifer Morrow face petty theft charges after stealing bathing suits and beef jerky during a trip to Wal-Mart on Wednesday.

A loss prevention officer told police Mobley was eating beef jerky in the store and Morrow concealed items inside her purse. They were detained after taking the items from the store without paying.

Boston-based auctioneer selling one of Lady Gaga’s fingernails

Ira Kantor — Wed, 29 May 2013 12:01:00 -0400

Artfact, a Boston-based auction marketplace, said today it currently has up for auction an acrylic nail worn by pop superstar Lady Gaga during a Dublin concert on her “Born This Way Ball” tour in September 2012.

The item’s authenticity is guaranteed by the auctioneer, PFC Auctioneers of the United Kingdom, Artfact said, adding the current bid price on the black acrylic finger nail featuring a gold bead pattern is 1,000 pounds or more than $1,500.

Online bidding is now available exclusively through the Artfact websites and will end May 30, officials said.

Colony of ants jam bell, keep German woman awake

Associated Press — Wed, 29 May 2013 08:13:54 -0400

BERLIN — Disturbing the peace in a provincial German town: a colony of ants.

A 75-year-woman in the southwestern town of Offenburg called police at 3 a.m. Wednesday complaining that she couldn't sleep because her doorbell was always ringing.

Police said officers dispatched to investigate the cause quickly tracked down the culprit: an ant nest next to the doorbell. They say the insects had built such a big home that the nest pressed the switching elements together, keeping the bell ringing.

Officers silenced it by removing the nest with a knife.