According to MSNBC.com, bride-to-be Kelly Gray and her fiancé, Karl Gau, were planning a modest wedding in their hometown of Virginia Beach. With a combined income of $32,000 annually, the young couple had decided they could only spend $7,000 on the wedding and would have to find some creative means to generate money to pay for it all. That’s when Kelly and her bridesmaids came up with a clever plan that produced some surprising results.

Gray had considered doing a bake sale to help pay for some of her wedding expenses when a bridesmaid suggested trying an auction on eBay. Gray explained that her bridesmaid had said, “’We need to auction something (on EBay). There’s Dr. Pepper cans and Cheetos bags for sale, so let’s just go ahead and do a bridesmaid.”

Gray and her bridesmaids decided that the winning bidder would not only be a bridesmaid during the ceremonies, but would also receive the dress, shoes, and a reception invitation for the “bridesmaid” and one guest. Gray did not expect the auction to receive much attention. In an appearance on NBC’s Today Show, she commented, “put it up for a penny, and I thought, it wouldn’t sell at a penny, I thought that was it. When I started seeing some bids, I couldn’t believe it.”

To everyone’s surprise, the auction caught the attention of media nationwide. The Dr. Pepper Snapple Group took interest and decided to pitch in – the company placed the winning bid of $5,700, then upped the ante to $10,000.

Now, instead of baking their own wedding cake and using an iPod instead of a DJ, the couple can afford to have the wedding of their dreams. In addition, the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group will provide their beverages and select the bridesmaid to be in Gray’s and Gau’s wedding ceremony. Gray and her bridesmaids agreed they hope the company would consider having Ellen Degeneres in the ceremony because, as Gray stated, Degeneres “would dance and have fun…I could see her dancing down the aisle.” more

The Church of Sweden now offers express wedding services to couples via drive-thru service, according to Reuters. The church decided to offer the services to auto enthusiasts in Vasteras who are attending the car rally.

According to priest Jerker Asterlund, 36 couples have applied to have their nuptials held at the rally. The priest designed the idea to promote making marriage more accessible.

Asterlund commented, “Weddings are getting more and more commercialized and that is not something we have any interest in. We would like to make things simpler and more down to earth when people take the plunge and get married. This is not just for fun, but also a way for the Church of Sweden to show we can take part in celebration and happiness and not just in crisis and catastrophes.”

Ten priests will conduct the ceremonies alongside a central event of the rally, a motorcade of 1950s and 1960s cars. more 

NEW YORK (AP) — At Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in New York’s Times Square, six contestants displayed their wedding dress creations to compete for the grand prize of $1,000. What makes their designs so exceptional is that each intricate dress was fashioned completely out of toilet paper.

Representatives from Ripley’s Believe it or Not!, Charmin and Cheap-Chic-Weddings.com acted as judges for the competition. In the fourth year of competitions, increasing numbers of entries have shown some remarkable talent in design.

Katrina Chalifoux of Rockford, IL won the grand prize this year with her entry of a sheath dress with a raised flower pattern from molded toilet paper. Chalifoux spent more than two weeks creating her design. Terri Glover of Marlin, Texas won second prize, followed by Ann Lee, of Honolulu, Hawaii, placing third. more 

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – When night clubs and dating sites didn’t help this single mom find love, Deven Trabosh decided to take a new approach and offer her real estate and her heart on eBay. Trabosh, a 42-year-old mother, has spent more than a year trying to sell her four bedroom home. Trying to find a new approach, she decided to make a real estate posting on eBay and include a shot at marrying her.

Trabosh commented, “I figured let’s combine the ad because I’m looking for love and I’m looking to sell the house.”

In Trabosh’s ad, posted to eBay and Craigslist, she describes “a life of romance and travel and a home decorated with vaulted ceilings, upgraded tile and a soaking tub in a gated community with a pool and tennis courts,” according to MSNBC.com. The woman’s ad originally offered the home for $340,000, but then raised the price to $500,000 when she added the possibility of her lifelong companionship.

Trabosh hasn’t received any serious offers, but she has received for than 500 responses to her ad. Responses have been mixed, including those of her daughters, who in part are happy for her but also a little embarrassed.

“I’m not selling myself. I’m selling love…to meet that true love,” Trabosh stated. “Of course, it’s gonna take more chemistry and connection. It’s not going to be instantaneous that I’m just going to be automatically for sale…it’s a package deal for true love.” more 

ROME (Reuters) - An Italian couple who were caught having sex in a church confessional box while morning Mass was being said have repented and made peace with the local bishop… more NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Frank Keys Jr. faces up to 40 years in prison after he was found cruising down the highway with more than 200 grams of heroin in the diaper he was wearing, federal officials said… more MICHIGAN CITY - Boaters along Trail Creek got a surprise Wednesday when a spider monkey made a break from Washington Park Zoo and ended up on a speedboat at neighboring B&E Marine… more PLAINVILLE, Conn. - They don’t climb tall buildings in a single bound, but the mysterious “Gas Men” are super heroes to some fed-up motorists. The unknown duo were dressed in sunglasses, baseball caps, khakis and matching green golf shirts when they gave Gayle Kilburn a $100 bill on Thursday as she filled up her car at a Citgo in Plainville… more

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – A New Zealand man has been fined $545 by the court for assault with a hedgehog, according to the Associated Press.

For unknown reasons, William Singalargh picked up a hedgehog and threw it at a 15-year-old boy in the town of Whakatane on February 9. The assault resulted in a red welt and several puncture marks on the teen’s leg but did not cause any injury requiring medical treatment. Singalargh did not provide any clear explanation of his motives for his hedgehog-hurling actions.

Singalargh, who pleaded innocent to the charges of common assault and offensive behavior, was found guilty and ordered to give $389 of his fine to the teen. The charge of assault with a weapon – the hedgehog – was dropped.

It remained undetermined whether or not the hedgehog was alive at the time of the incident, but it was deceased at the time it was collected for evidence. Police said that it was uncommon for a hedgehog to be used as a weapon. more

DURANGO, Colorado (AP) – Liquor store owner Gabe Fidanque fought back against shoplifters through unconventional means by giving potential thieves a choice – they could give him one of their shoes or face the police. Fidanque claims he faced potential losses of about $1000 a month from shoplifters and decided to retaliate. The store owner claimed that people he turned in to police would return hours after being arrested, so he found this strategy to work better.

“That’s the whole point of it. They’re too humiliated to come back and ask for their shoe, and that also means they won’t steal again,” Fidanque said.

However, Durango police warned Fidanque to stop taking shoes or he could face felony robbery charges. They also ordered the man to make an effort to return the shoes to their owners.

“I would suggest that he find a different option that doesn’t involve giving up property,” said police Capt. Micki Browning. “What’s the difference between him saying, ‘Give me $20 and I won’t call the police’ or ‘Give me your shoe?”‘

Fidanque has agreed to cease his shoe-taking strategy and try to return the shoes in his possession. more

TOKYO – According to the Associated Press, a 58-year-old homeless woman resided in a man’s closet for over a year before she was discovered by the resident. Noting that the owner had left his home unlocked, the woman snuck inside and hid in the closet. During the past year, the woman moved a mattress into the closet and would use the man’s home for showering and scavenging food while the owner was away.

The man noticed food disappearances over the past several months and decided to install security cameras to monitor his residence. The camera transmitted surveillance images to his mobile phone. On May 29, the man called police after viewing images of someone moving inside his home.

When the police arrived, no apparent evidence of a forced entry existed. The doors were locked and all windows were closed and intact. After an extensive search, police found the woman hidden in a top compartment of the closet.

The woman was removed from the residence and charged with trespassing. more

LONDON – According to ABC News, a British scrap metal dealer discovered a treasure amidst his childhood toys, a Persian mug expected to auction for nearly $1 million in auction.

John Webber’s grandfather gave him a metal cup to use as a toy sometime around 1945. The golden cup, decorated with the heads of two women and knotted snakes, was believed to be a decorative brass cup at the time. Webber used the cup for target practice with his air gun as a child.

Finding the cup in a shoebox under his bed when preparing to move, Webber decided to have its value appraised. To his surprise, Webber found out that the cup was actually a piece of ancient Persian treasure. The cup was fashioned out of a single sheet of gold, likely fashioned in the time of the Achaemenid empire, dating back to the third or fourth century B.C.

Webber noted that his grandfather had a good eye for antiques, but has no idea where he might have found the Persian artifact. The cup will be auctioned at Duke’s, in Dorchester, south-west England, on June 5 and is expected to sell for approximately $988,000. more

A man who dressed up as Darth Vader, wearing a black garbage bag for a cape, and assaulted the founders of Britain’s first Jedi church has been given a suspended sentence…more

TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico – According to USA Today, Chiapas police jailed “Blackey” the donkey for biting and kicking two men at a local ranch. The victims claimed that Blackey had bit one man in the chest and then kicked the other in the ankle, resulting in a fracture. Victim Andres Hernandez commented, “All of a sudden, the animal was on top of us like it was rabid.”

Six officers subdued the enraged animal and confined Blackey to a jail cell normally used for holding people charged with public drunkenness and other disturbances.

Chiapas Officer Sinar Gomez explained, “Around here, if someone commits a crime they are jailed, no matter who they are.” Gomez continued to explain that Blackey would be retained until the owner agreed to compensate the victims for their related medical expenses.

Blackey was released three days after its “arrest” when the owner paid a fine of $36 and the $115 in medical expenses. The owner will also be required to compensate the victims for $480 each in lost wages for their missed work days.

USA Toda noted that Chiapas police are known to imprison animals that cause injury or destruction. Such incidents included a bull that ate corn crops and a dog that bit a passerby. more

BOULDER, Colo. – A security company supervisor and restaurateur shot each other with Tasers during a confrontation over the parking of a van, according to the Associated Press. Harvey Epstein, co-owner of Mamacitas restaurant, and Casey Dane, a supervisor for Colorado Security Services Inc., entered into a heated argument about a metal boot that one of the security personnel had secured to the wheel of a van parked behind Mamacitas. Dane claimed the van was parked on property his employer was hired to patrol.

Epstein confronted Dane while holding a pair of bolt cutters he claimed he intended to use to cut off the boot. Fearing that Epstein intended to hit him, Dane put his hand on his holstered pistol, Shortly after, both men shot each other with the Tasers. Police Sgt. Pat Wyton commented, “It was just kind of a bonehead deal.”

Epstein alleged that Dane threatened to shoot him and his mother and did not shoot at Dane until the man pointed the Taser at them. Dane stated that Epstein had threatened him with the bolt cutters. Both men deny the allegations made against them.

Neither men suffered any injuries requiring medical attention. Epstein was arrested on suspicion of felony menacing and using a stun gun. more

]]> http://hartz-design.com/weirdnewz/?feed=rss2&p=82 http://hartz-design.com/weirdnewz/?p=81 http://hartz-design.com/weirdnewz/?p=81#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:36:16 +0000 mzhartz Stupid Criminals Unusual Circumstances Conspiracy http://hartz-design.com/weirdnewz/?p=81 Disgruntled DJ Sets Fire to Station, Retiree Recovers 1995 Lottery Winnings, Mayor Admits Theft of Dog

Austin, TX – According to the Associated Press, a volunteer DJ set fire to community radio station 91.7 FM KOOP over a playlist dispute. Volunteer Paul Webster Feinstein was upset that the station altered his playlist selections for an overnight Internet broadcast. Feinstein was a known jazz fan and had been arguing with another volunteer about what music should be included in the station’s digital library for Internet programs. He quit a week before the fire, telling station personnel that he was moving on to do other things.

Austin Fire Department Battalion Chief Greg Nye commented that Feinstein was very unhappy about the changes. According to Nye, the man admitted making a copy of the station key and waited for station personnel to leave before committing the crime. Nye explained that Feinstein poured gasoline on control panels in two studios to start the fire. Investigators knew it was an act of arson when the fire department’s dog detected the scent of gasoline on the scene of the crime.

Feinstein faces charges of second-degree felony arson charges, with a possible penalty of two to 20 years in jail and a $10,000 fine. The radio station suffered $300,000 in damages and was off the air for 19 days.  more

Sydney, Australia – MSNBC.com explained that retiree Werner Reinhold won the lottery, lost the prize, and then reclaimed it in the courts. Reinhold purchased his lottery ticket from a Sydney newsstand in 1995. Since the original ticket did not print properly, Reinhold asked for a replacement to be printed. The reprint turned out to be the winning ticket for a sum of $1.8 million.

When the man tried to claim his winnings, he found that the replacement ticket was canceled rather than the original ticket. As a result, Reinhold could not claim the prize money.

Reinhold sued NSW Lotteries, the entity responsible for both the lottery management and the operations of the newsstand. Supreme Court Judge Reginald Barrett found in favor of Reinhold, stating that NSW and the newsstand were both negligent and in breach of contract. Reinhold was awarded the full sum of $1.8 million in return.  more

Alice, TX – Grace Saenz-Lopez, mayor of the small town of Alice, Texas, apologized to residents on Friday for her theft of a neighbor’s dog. Several months before, neighbors asked Saenz-Lopez to care for their dog Puddles while they were away on vacation. One day after they departed for their vacation, Saenz-Lopez contacted the neighbors and claimed that the dog had died.

Three months later, a relative of the owners saw Puddles at a pet groomer. When the neighbors  requested that Saenz-Lopez return the dog to them, the mayor refused. According to the woman’s attorney, Saenz-Lopez believed that the dog would die if returned to its owners. Shortly afterward, Saenz-Lopez then filed a police report that Puddles was missing. The dog was later seen at the home of the mayor’s twin sister, approximately 10 miles away from the town of Alice.

Saenz-Lopez was indicted for two felony counts of tampering with evidence and concealing evidence as a result of her actions. City commissioners unanimously decided to ask for Saenz-Lopez’s resignation as mayor. The dog’s former owners have filed a criminal complaint  and civil lawsuit against Saenz-Lopez, and will be engaged in a later custody hearing to determine if Puddles will be returned to them.  more

US military officials are now saying that they did have fighter jets on a routine training mission in the area of Stephenville, Texas on January 8th, the night dozens of residents report seeing weird lights in the sky that they thought was a UFO. The military had originally said that they did not have any jets in that area, that night, but are now changing their story…more

The way Leo Hill figures it, every roll of toilet paper he’s used since mid-2006 has shorted him at least one sitting…more 

Elyria firefighters rolled into a Target store Friday afternoon and found a rack of blazing, hot lingerie.

The sleepwear wasn’t for sale, but literally on fire, police said…more

A Man was found staggering down a Swansea pavement late at night covered from head to toe in flour and tomato ketchup…more 

China According to Reuters, more than 100 police couples married in China in a recent mass wedding. Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu shared his well wishes for the participants in the ceremony, a group comprised of police couples who met in the line of duty. China’s state news agency publicized the event, noting that the event was held to boost morale in the year of the Beijing Olympics.

Mr. Meng commented on the difficult responsibilities of Chinas police force. “In order to guarantee the peace and stability of our nation, we have to often work overtime, suffer injuries and even sacrifice our lives,” he stated.

More than 2,700 police were killed in the line of duty and approximately 29,000 suffered injuries in the past six years. China hopes the ceremony will create a positive message for its police force.more

Portage, WI The Associate Press noted that Mathew Kowald of Pardeeville, WI was cited for disorderly conduct for forcing his son to wear a Green Bay Packers jersey. When the seven-year-old boy refused to wear the jersey during the playoff game between the Green Bay Packer and the Seattle Seahawks, the father restrained the boy with tape and proceeded to tape the jersey onto the child. The father restrained the boy in this fashion for an hour.

Lt. Wayne Smith of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Department said the incident sounded strange when the boys mother called authorities to report her husbands actions. However, the mother showed authorities cell phone pictures of the boy restrained by tape with the jersey taped to him. Police arrested the man and he was later released after paying a fine of $186.

Mathew Kowald told a local paper that the incident was a joke that got out of control. The father and son joked when the boy said he wouldnt root for the Packers, at which point Kowald tied up the boy. The father claims that his son was laughing as his wife took pictures of their antics.

The father commented, “Then he couldn’t get out and he got upset and that’s it. It lasted a minute. I didn’t mean no harm, and he knows that, but I haven’t been able to tell him that.”

Since the incident, the wife filed a restraining order to keep Mathew Kowald from any contact with his family. According to Lt. Smith, the family has experienced other domestic issues.more

ABC News noted that Serbian director Emir Kusturica symbolically buried a Bruce Willis film at the opening of the Kustendorf Film Festival on Monday. Kusturica, winner of two Golden Palm awards at the Cannes Film Festival, buried Live Free or Die Hard in a “Graveyard of Bad Films.” The acclaimed director sought to counter Hollywood’s influence on film students through the “burial ceremony.” Footage of Kusturica’s symbolic action was shown on RTS television.

The Kustendorf Film Festival was organized by Kusturica and is partially funded by the Serbian government. During the festival, film students from 12 countries will be competing with short films for acclaim. Kusturica also stated that no commercials would be shown during the festival so that “the auteur will be the one under the spotlights.”…more

According to Reuters, a FBI international wiretap was cut off after the agency failed to resolve a delinquent bill owed to the telephone company. The Justice Department’s inspector general blamed poor financial management of undercover investigative funding for the FBI issues of theft and mishandled invoices in a recent audit. The failure to manage monies effectively resulted in disruption of intelligence casework.

An audit demonstrated that, “Late payments have resulted in telecommunications carriers actually disconnecting phone lines established to deliver surveillance results to the FBI, resulting in lost evidence, including an instance where delivery of intercept information required by a … FISA order was halted due to untimely payment.”

Inspector general spokeswoman Cynthia Schnedar declined to comment further on the issue, noting that much of the audit report contained sensitive law-enforcement information…more

Two Austrian teenagers have been fined £75,000 for hacking down and burying a roadside speed camera…more

AUBURN, Calif. (AP) - A three-pound Chihuahua mix named Tink helped police put a fugitive in the clink…more