BRANT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Who are you going to call when someone rips off your pot plants? Deputies in Saginaw County, Mich., report a 54-year-old woman called to say she was the victim of a crime. She told deputies two men broke into her house and demanded the weed she was growing. But now she's the one in trouble. Detectives say she's been booked on charges of manufacturing and delivering marijuana.
SWINE FLU-BEER PONG
TROY, N.Y. (AP) - Beer pong and swine flu don't mix. That's the warning from
officials at an upstate New York college. Administrators at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute say several cases of the H1N1 flu have been linked to
sharing cups during games like beer pong. The director of the college's health
center sent a message to RPI students and staff about the potential beer pong
danger. RPI has reported 21 cases of swine flu, including seven students who are
in isolation at the campus.
FLAMINGO SCULPTURE-PERMIT
BALTIMORE (AP) - The giant pink flamingo needs a permit. That's what Baltimore
officials are telling Cafe Hon (hun) owner Denise Whiting. A city inspector
warns Whiting that she needs the official paperwork for her big bird, or it has
to go. She's a little confused about the timing, though. Whiting says her giant
pink flamingo went up seven years ago as part of a holiday display and she never
took it down. City officials aren't saying exactly what is prompting their
action now. But such cases are often the result of complaints.
SLOSHED SUSPECT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - You could call it a case of drinking and robbing. A
Michigan man is due in court today, charged with holding up a Chase bank branch
in Ann Arbor. Police report they found the suspect drunk and passed out in a
truck. Pittsfield Township police Lt. Stephen Heller says an officer had a hard
time waking the man. Heller tells AnnArbor.com the guy fit the description of
the suspect in a bank robbery less than three hours earlier. Police say the
money has been recovered.
MOOD BRACELET
AMSTERDAM (AP) - Think mood ring for investors. That's the idea behind "The
Rationalizer." The electronic gizmo detects the emotional state of stock traders
and warns if they might act impulsively. The demonstration device is being
developed by Philips Electronics and a prominent Dutch bank. It's on display at
an innovation summit in Brussels this week. The system consists of a sensor in a
bracelet and a glowing orb that sits next to the stock trader's computer. The
globe glows yellow, orange and finally red depending on the emotional state of
the user. A spokesman for the bank says it's particularly useful for men,
because they're more emotional stock traders than women.
BONNIE AND CLYDE
APARTMENT JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) - You won't be able to spend the night at Bonnie and
Clyde's place. The Joplin, Mo., City Council has rejected a request to turn the
notorious gangster couple's apartment into a bed and breakfast. In April of
1933, Bonnie and Clyde and other members of the Barrow gang holed up in the
apartment for 12 days. They shot their way out in a gun battle with police that
left two officers dead. The Joplin Globe reports neighbors objected to the plan
to open the apartment to tourists. The apartment is listed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
