Armed 85-year-old woman makes intruder call cops
POINT MARION, Pa. - An 85-year-old woman boldly went for her gun and busted a would-be burglar inside her home, then forced him to call police while she kept him in her sights, police said. "I just walked right on past him to the bedroom and got my gun," Leda Smith said.
Smith heard someone break into her home Sunday afternoon and grabbed the .22-caliber revolver she had been keeping by her bed since a neighbor's home was burglarized a few weeks ago.
"I said 'What are you doing in my house?' He just kept saying he didn't do it," Smith said.
After the 17-year-old boy called 911, Smith kept holding the gun on him until state police arrived at her home in Springhill Township, about 45 miles south of Pittsburgh.
The boy will be charged with attempted burglary and related offenses in juvenile court, Trooper Christian Lieberum said. He was not identified because of his age.
"It was exciting," Smith said. "I just hope I broke up the (burglary) ring because they have been hitting a lot of places around here."
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Monkey eludes dragnet at Tokyo train station
TOKYO - Morning train commuters in Tokyo were joined on their way to work by an unusual companion Wednesday: a wild monkey.
A security guard spotted the monkey near ticket gates in Shibuya Station, said Norihiru Masui, a spokesman for train operator Tokyu Corp.
The monkey climbed to a perch high atop a departure board, and around 30 policemen surrounded the area and attempted to snare it with a variety of nets, as commuters crowded around and snapped pictures with their cell phones.
The standoff ended when the monkey climbed down and dashed out of the station, with several policeman and local TV crews in tow. News reports said the monkey was last seen heading in the direction of nearby Yoyogi Park.
The animal appeared to be a Japanese monkey, which are native to the country, and was about 27 inches (70 centimeters) long from head to the tip of the tail. No one was injured and no trains were delayed in the incident.
Japanese media have reported several monkey sightings in Tokyo recently, but it was unclear if they involved the same animal.
Monkeys have long made appearances in rural parts of Japan, where they have been known to damage crops, swipe food from grocery stalls and even bite humans. In recent years, growth in the monkey population has meant more frequent forays out of the forests and into farms and towns.
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NY restaurant uses 1933 prices; Steaks: 90 cents
NEW YORK - An Italian restaurant in Harlem that once counted Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett as regulars has turned back the clock 75 years.
Patsy's Restaurant in East Harlem celebrated its 75th anniversary Tuesday with 1933 prices, including a 12-ounce New York cut steak and grilled salmon for 90 cents and a slice of pizza for 60 cents. Most beverages cost 10 cents.
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PM's voicemail: call my predecessor
DUBLIN - Ever wished your predecessor was there to take the flak for the problems you inherited?
Ireland's Prime Minister Brian Cowen may have the answer.
Three months after Cowen took office, callers to two numbers for the prime minister's office listed in Dublin's telephone directory were still being redirected to the previous incumbent.
"Thank you for calling the office of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister), however if you wish to call Bertie Ahern's constituency office, please ring ..." a recorded message instructed callers.
Cowen became prime minister in May after Ahern stepped down amid mounting questions over his complex personal finances.
Ahern said he was "extremely unlucky" to get caught up in the corruption investigation, but commentators have described the timing of his departure as a stroke of genius.
He quit a month before a referendum in which Irish voters ignored government pleas and rejected the European Union's reform plans, throwing the bloc into diplomatic turmoil.
Meanwhile the country's once booming economy is now on the brink of its first recession in a quarter of a century.
Ireland's Prime Minister Brian Cowen
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Corpse kept upright for 3-day wake in Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - 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.
The body of deceased Angel Pantoja Medina, left, stands leaning against a wall during his wake as unidentified people attend his wake in his mother's home in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Monday, Aug. 18, 2008. The last wish of Medina, 24, who was found dead on Aug. 15, 2008 underneath a bridge in the capital, was to be standing at his own wake, and was embalmed for the occasion.
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Outback mayor seeks "ugly duckling" women
CANBERRA - A plea for lovelorn female "ugly ducklings" to move to a remote Australian mining town to reverse a shortage of eligible women has landed the local mayor in hot water.
Mt Isa Mayor John Molony was refusing to apologize on Monday for angering local women with a suggestion that "with five blokes to every girl, may I suggest that beauty-disadvantaged women should proceed to Mount Isa," in north-west Queensland state.
"Quite often you will see walking down the street a lass who is not so attractive with a wide smile on her face. Whether it is recollection of something previous or anticipation for the next evening, there is a degree of happiness," Molony told the Townsville Bulletin newspaper last week.
"Some, in other places in Australia, need to proceed to Mount Isa where happiness awaits. Really, beauty is only skin deep. Isn't there a fairy tale about an ugly duckling that evolves into a beautiful swan," Molony said.
The mayor said he was "telling it like it is" in a testosterone-laden town more famous for cowboys and mining lead, silver, copper and zinc than for match-making, sitting atop one of the world's biggest underground mines.
"I'm a bloke who respects women. I believe we should look after women. I'm told men outnumber women here by five to one. If that's the case, then perhaps it's an opportunity for some lonely women," Molony said.
Fellow council members and the local chamber of commerce said they had been swamped with phone calls from both women and men complaining about the mayor's remarks.
"It paints the women here as second rate and suggests the men will settle for anything. I think it's quite disgusting," Mt Isa domestic violence worker Shirley Slann told the Courier Mail newspaper on Monday.
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Court gives green light to "boobs on bikes" parade
WELLINGTON - A New Zealand court has allowed a parade of topless porn stars on motor bikes to proceed on the main street of the country's biggest city, local media said Tuesday.
Auckland City Council had sought a court injunction to stop the "Boobs on Bikes" parade, scheduled for Wednesday, saying it breached a bylaw banning offensive public events.
But Judge Nicola Mathers said while opponents may find the parade offensive or tasteless, the fact that 80,000 people had gathered for a similar event last year meant a significant number of people did not agree with the critics, New Zealand Press Association said.
The parade on Queens St., featuring leather-clad local and international porn stars, is part of an "Erotica Expo" organized by self-styled "porn king" Steve Crow.
This is TheOldGuy reporting from
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