'Those Pigeons Were to Blame' Says Calgary Man

CALGARY -- It probably wasn't his aim to ruffle the feathers of police, but Calgary police say a man wanted by Mounties on a warrant for fraud charges was arrested after they were called about a possible gunman at large today. The man they found was armed with a pellet gun he was allegedly using to take care of some 'pesky pigeons' outside his home at about noon.

The next quote from Insp. Paul Stacey can tell us even with a pellet gun, one can cause harm.

"They just saw someone pointing a gun and was a little concerned," Stacey said. "The fella wasn't too happy to see us because he had a warrant for fraud (put out by) RCMP."

Police seized the pellet gun and made the arrest at a nearby restaurant where the suspect went with his two children. Yes, his two children who had to watch him get taken away by policemen, rather than earlier when he was aiming at the pigeons.

There were no details about the fraud charges nor if the alleged pigeon problem had been resolved. We hope not.\

[Winnipeg Sun]

Life-size Replica of E.T. Washes Up

A coastguard search for a body allegedly spotted near Old Portsmouth, Hants, turned up something rather unexpected: A life-size replica of E.T.

The giant doll, which scared the bejesus out of a beach-goer, was stolen from the home of 76-year-old Margaret Wells in September of last year. “The police rang and said somebody has found a body in the Solent and it belongs to you - it’s E.T.,” Wells said.

The model was handmade by Wells’s daughter nearly a decade ago.

“He has lost a finger and looks a bit roughed up. But he has a smile on his face,” she said. “I always knew E.T. would come home.”

[Telegraph]

Steve Jobs to Become Action Figure

G.I. Joe and Spider-Man will have a major competitor come February. The Chinese company In Icons has created a Steve Jobs action figure as a tribute to the late Apple founder. The $99 lifelike doll, complete with Jobs' signature black turtleneck and New Balance sneakers, is currently available for pre-order on the manufacturer's website.

But rabid Jobs fans flooding the site have caused it to temporarily crash. And some say it's better to hold off on your pre-order. According to PCR, the Jobs family blocked another company from selling Steve Jobs dolls in 2010, so it's possible that this action figure might never be an authorized product.

[Washington Post]

Charlton Library Sends Police to Collect Overdue Books From 5-Year-Old

A 5-year-old in Charlton, Massachusetts, received the shock of her life when a police officer arrived at her home to collect two overdue library books.

“I thought it was way overboard,” said Hailey Benoit’s mom Shannon. “I closed my door, I looked at my daughter and she started crying.”

Charlton Police Sergeant Dan Dowd told local CBS affiliate WBZ that he didn’t want to get involved, but had no choice. “Nobody wanted to,” he said, “but the library contacted us, and the chief delegated, and apparently I was one of the low men on the totem pole.”

The library defended its actions, claiming that sending a police officer to visit the 5-year-old was a last-resort move after many ignored notices. Benoit, who found and returned the overdue books, insists she never received any warnings.

[CBS Local]

Was This Police Officer Caught Planting Evidence?

Police dashcam footage released by the Utica Phoenix over the weekend appears to show a Utica PD officer planting the contents of a bag filled with an unknown substance inside the vehicle of an African-American couple pulled over for an alleged traffic violation.

According to the Phoenix, the traffic stop occurred last February, and the video has since been “widely distributed through the Black community,” fueling “the renewal of complaints long charged against the Utica Police of the planting of evidence and other abuses by the local force.”

In the video (above) an officer can be seen leading away a cuffed individual (0:50) just before a second officer, standing next to an opened passenger door, appears to pull a bag out of his pocket (~1:02), and place it inside the vehicle. Moments later (~1:30), the same officer removes what may be the same bag, now opened, from the car, and steps away.

The Phoenix reached out to Utica Police for comment and were told that an internal affairs investigation into the incident was ongoing.

The internet is losing its mind over this clip. Police say a longer version of the video — also included here — shows an officer taking the same bag out of the suspect's jacket. Who to believe?

Long Version



[WKTV/YouTube]

Video: 15 TV Theme Songs In Two-Minute Mashup

What's better than a really good TV theme song? 15 really good TV theme songs! Especially when they're all mashed together brilliantly, like in this two-minute medley from the Koren Ensemble. How many of them can you identify?



[Neatorama]

Pepsi Says Mountain Dew Can Dissolve Mouse Carcasses

PepsiCo is fighting a lawsuit from a man who claims he found a dead mouse in a can of Mountain Dew, arguing the acid in the soda would have dissolved the critter's carcass. Ronald Ball from Madison County, Ill., says he made the disgusting discovery while drinking a can of Mountain Dew in November 2009.

Pepsi countered with expert testimony from a veterinary pathologist who testified the mouse could not have possibly been in the can when it was sealed and shipped in April 2008, because the acid would have disintegrated its body, turning it into a "jelly-like" substance, according to Legal Newsline. The case has been ongoing since 2009, quietly going back and forth as Pepsi moves to dismiss it and Ball files amended complaints.

Ball, who is seeking $50,000 in damages, said he was sipping his drink when he noticed a foul taste. He said he poured the remainder of the drink into a Styrofoam cup and that's when he found the rodent. He alleges he returned the mouse to PepsiCo, which promptly destroyed it.

In the case's latest development, a judge gave Pepsi until Jan. 11 to answer or plead to Ball's second amended complaint, reports the Madison Record.

[Atlantic Wire]

World's First Hybrid Shark Found in Australia

Scientists in Australia say they’ve discovered the world’s first hybrid shark — a cross being the genetically distinct common black-tip and Australian black-tip — swimming along the coastline between New South Wales and Queensland.

“Telling the hybrids is extremely difficult, which is why it has never been done before,” Dr. Colin Simfendorfer of James Cook University told ABC Radio. “It came very much out of leftfield. We didn’t think it was a possibility, but lo and behold there it was.”

57 hybrids were found in five separate locations.

Unlike other hybrids in the animal world, these new sharks appear to be mating with other members of their species. Scientists speculate that the cause of interbreeding could be environmental change: The two black-tip species that make up the hybrid favor different water temperatures.

As to whether there is any chance of the hybrids turning into a “Jaws-style mega-shark,” the scientists say there is no risk of that at this time.

No word on lasers, though.

[Telegraph]

Video: Live TV Reporter Loses It

Covering New Year's Eve over the weekend in Lahore, Pakistan, City 42 news reporter Asad Sahi finally had enough, and does what every reporter covering a mob of revelers has wanted to do since the dawn of time. You don't have to speak Punjabi to follow the action here.



[YouTube]