Moose wedding

The male moose mascot of a tiny North Dakota town has a mate, and she's the city's namesake.

Joe the Moose has long been the mascot on the sign leading into Anamoose, in north-central North Dakota. But officials of the town of about 260 decided to give him a mate, Ana, and held a mock wedding Saturday in celebration. Maury Becker, a resident who acted as minister of the ceremony, told the guests he was joining Joe and Ana "in an estate of continual turmoil," and officially declared them "miserable mates."

The moose couple -- Ron Cartwright as Ana and Barb Martin as Joe -- cut the wedding cake and handed out what they called moose droppings.

"Really, you've got to have a little fun and live a little," said Danelle Olson, the pastor of the United Community Baptist Church of Anamoose. "It's a silly event. But, you know, sometimes you've got to act a little silly to keep your sanity in life."

Offensive name change

A New Mexico appeals court on Friday ruled against a Los Alamos man who wanted to change his name to a phrase containing a popular four-letter obscenity.

The man appealed after a state district judge in Bernalillo County refused his request to change his name to "F--- Censorship!"

Judge Nan Nash ruled that the proposed name change was "obscene, offensive and would not comport with common decency."

The man - whose current legal name is Variable - argued on appeal that it was improper government censorship to deny him the name change.

"We do not believe that the district court's action infringes on petitioner's right to free speech," a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals said in its ruling.

The man has the right to call himself whatever he wants, unless there's fraud or misrepresentation involved, the judges said.

But once he seeks court approval for a name change, the court has the authority to turn him down on several grounds, including if the name is offensive to common decency and good taste, the judges ruled.

That law was clarified in a 2004 case in the same court that apparently involved the same petitioner. In that case, an Albuquerque man whose name was Snaphappy Fishsuit Mokiligon got the go-ahead from the appeals court to change his name to Variable.

Where are you Scooby-Doo?

Scooby-Doo has become one of Queensland's most wanted after giving police the slip during a reckless track invasion at the Ipswich Cup race day. Not only did the memorably-dressed prankster evade arrest, he also failed to return the eye-catching outfit to the store from which he hired it.

Michelle Johnstone from Hidden Identity Costumes at Cleveland in Redland City said the driver's licence the man used in the transaction turned out to be stolen.

"It was obviously a pre-meditated crime. He put a bit of planning into it," Ms Johnstone said, pointing out he had "definitely lost his $40 bond".

Ipswich police are also keen to hunt down Scooby-Doo following the "reckless" behaviour of the wearer.

"We're still making enquiries into where Scooby-Doo is," said Senior Sergeant Roger Wilson.

"We'd ask that anyone who recognises him to contact Ipswich police."

Ipswich Turf Club general manager Brett Kitching said the man almost "got cleaned up" by the horses after sauntering on to the track at the 300m mark during the final race.

"It is a potentially life-threatening action to run on to the track," said Mr Kitching. "

Just a few hours earlier we had a fall involving four horses, one of which had to be destroyed. It doesn't take much to spook a horse and the results can be life threatening."

Two other men who piggy-backed each other on to the track in pursuit of Scooby-Doo were arrested and charged by police, and will face Ipswich Magistrate's Court on July 14.

Overloaded

A teacher was today found guilty of dangerous driving – after police caught him with 13 people in a Volvo car built for five. Abraham Gniwosch, 30, crammed his family into the car so they could enjoy a day out to the farm in Llandudno, North Wales.

He had ten passengers in the back - two women with babies on their laps and six children under the age of 10 half-seated or standing up. A man aged 28 and a seven-year-old boy was also in the front passenger seat of the car.

Nia Lloyd, prosecuting at Llandudno in North Wales, said none of the 13 were wearing a seat belt and said the Volvo S70 was 'dramatically overloaded'.

Gniwosch, from Tottenham, London, insisted in evidence that he was wearing a seat belt and that he always drove carefully.

He was fined £500 with £415 costs, banned from driving for a year and must take an extended re-test before getting behind the wheel again.

Son turns his dead dad into a teapot

John Lowndes has no problem stirring up happy memories of his dad after putting his ashes in an urn with a difference.

He found that when Ian died 10 years ago aged 75, one of the things he missed most was their tradition of putting the world to rights over a nice cuppa.

So he brewed up the idea of giving him leaf eternal by having his ashes mixed with clay to make a teapot.

John, 54, said: "Those cups of tea with dad were special and when he died I really missed them."

John, of Broad Haven, Pembrokeshire, approached local potter Neil Richardson who made two teapots - in case one breaks. John added: "Dad would understand. The only thing more appropriate would have been a pint glass."

North Pole DUI

A North Pole man is accused of driving a riding lawn mower over several yards while intoxicated and then trying to elude police. Wyatt Lewis, 20, has been charged with driving under the influence and failure to stop at the direction of a peace officer.

Shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday morning, Alaska State Troopers were called to Garnett Drive in North Pole about an intoxicated man driving a red Craftsman riding mower over several people’s lawns.

When troopers spotted Lewis, they put on their emergency lights and sirens, but he allegedly led them on a brief pursuit for approximately 200 feet at speed of about 5 mph. As Lewis turned into a backyard on the street, the trooper exited his vehicle and finally got Lewis to stop, according to a criminal complaint filed in court.

Lewis admitted to drinking a few beers and said he did not hear the patrol car’s sirens, according to the complaint. A chemical test found his breath-alcohol content to be 0.184, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 to operate a motor vehicle.

While it is not very common for someone on a riding lawnmower to be charged with driving under the influence, it’s not outside the statute.

“Basically, the law says you’re not authorized to operate any motorized vehicle after drinking,” Trooper Charles Inderrieden said, noting it usually only extends beyond motorists to pilots and boaters.

World's Ugliest Dog

A three-legged, one-eyed, cancer-afflicted dog named Gus has been crowned the World's Ugliest Dog at a fair in California. Gus, a Chinese Crested dog, beat all comers to take the title at the Sonoma-Marin Fair.

Owner Jeanenne Teed, from Florida, said she would spend the $1,600 prize on treatment for Gus's skin cancer.

The competition has been running for 20 years, and is one of the fair's top attractions, organisers said.

Vicki DeArmon, marketing director of the fair, said that in the past few years, winners had been dogs that had been abandoned or neglected before being adopted by dog-lovers. "They may look hard to love, but apparently they are not. I've never seen dogs better cared for," she added.

One of his legs was amputated as a consequence of his skin tumor and He lost an eye to a tomcat in a fight.

Woman washing her car

Lemonade stand robbed

A group of Terre Haute (Indianna) kids were squeezed out of cash from their lemonade stand and now a man is behind bars. The children were running a lemonade stand in the Farrington Grove neighborhood when things went sour.

Dominique Morefield and her friends set up their lemonade stand at the corner of Deming and Center streets. Police said 18-year-old Steven Tryon came up to the stand and asked for their money.

"The guy comes up and was just like, 'give me your money,'" said Morefield.

He grabbed it from the girl's hands and took off running.

"I was just like, shocked. It was my immediate reaction to chase after him," said Morefield.

Morefield chased after Tryon and called police on her cell phone.

Tryon ran into a house down the street where police spent more than 45 minutes trying to coax him out. When he finally came out, police arrested him. The kids were able to identify him because they said he came to their street corner earlier that same day and tried to sell them a knife.

Tryon was taken to the Vigo County Jail. He's due in court Tuesday. He is facing a felony robbery charge.

The kids will be getting their money back, all $17.50, but they said they're just glad Tryon was caught.

What's in a name

When it's a local dish like "Husband and wife's lung slice" or "Chicken without sexual life," lots of furrowed eyebrows on famished foreigners.

So, with the Olympics a few short weeks away, China is giving its cuisine a linguistic makeover.

It is proposing that restaurants change the names of exotic, but bizarrely named, delicacies to make them more delectable for the estimated 50,000 visitors arriving in August for the Summer Games.

The appetizer "Husband and wife's lung slice" is taking on the more appetizing "Beef and ox tripe in chili sauce." "Chicken without sexual life" has been transformed into "Steamed pullet."

The government has put down more than 2,000 proposed names in a 170-page book that it has offered to Beijing hotels, according to state media.

"Thanks to the pamphlet, we do not have to struggle to come up with the English translations of dishes any more, which is usually time consuming," a senior manager at the four-star Guangzhou Hotel in downtown Beijing told the Xinhua news agency.

The Chinese say the names of their dishes focus more on appearance than taste or smell. But Westerners are more accustomed to names that describe the ingredients and how they are cooked -- such as pot roast.

The government realizes local names are a matter of taste, but don't want them to get lost in translation. Hence, the spicy Sichuanese dish "Bean curd made by a pock-marked woman" has been bestowed the more palatable "Mapo tofu."

"The process of standardizing a menu translation is a double-edged sword," wrote columnist Raymond Zhou in the China Daily newspaper. It "removes the ambiguity and unintended humor" and "takes away the fun and the rich connotation. It turns a menu into the equivalent of plain rice, which has the necessary nutrients but is devoid of flavor."

Power to the people

Residents of Tanzania's Zanzibar island are celebrating the return of the island's power supplies four weeks after they were cut off. In the historic Stone Town, women, men, and children sang: "Leo umeme washa" - "Today the power has come on".

There are reports that some areas will have to wait longer because cables have been stolen, but in Stone Town the drone of generators has been silenced. A surge caused a connection to collapse between underwater and overland cables.

The power resumed on Wednesday morning, first in Stone Town and then in neighbouring districts. For the past month, those shops who could not afford spending nearly $10 a day on generator fuel, have waited in darkness.

In the market area of Darajani, bookshop owner Farouk Karim explains that the past month has been disastrous for the shop. "We deal in the business of newspapers and that needs light. It was not a profitable month at all. This is a modern world and for a country to have no power for a month is a real shame."

Don't pick your own

A fruit farm has stopped doing "pick your own" strawberries because customers are eating too much of the fruit without paying. Hacker's Fruit Farm, near Cambridge, had offered pickers the chance to select their own strawberries for the last 40 years.

Mark Spight, who runs the farm, said he was annoyed at the number of people not paying for the strawberries. Mr Spight said he used to get angry watching people gorging themselves then only taking a handful of fruit to be paid for.

He said some people were eating up to £15 worth of strawberries and would come to the checkout covered in juice. There had also been an increasing problem with unruly behaviour leading to plants being trampled and fruit damaged.

"We don't mind people going picking and trying some strawberries, but we once had a family come with a bowl of cream. It was shocking," said Mr Spight. "We used to have a lot of children playing in the fields and trampling the plants. We thought it was not worth it."

The farm still has a farm shop and "pick your own" blackberries and other berries.

Puffer fish bite

A teenager in Cambodia has been hospitalised after an unfortunate incident involving an angry puffer fish and his genitals.

According to local media reports, the 13-year-old was attacked by the puffer fish after it got trapped in the boy's net. Once it was released, it made a beeline for the boy's groin, and bit it.

The Koh Santepheap newspaper printed a picture of him in hospital with his testicles heavily strapped following the attack.

The boy is expected to recover from the incident - which occurred in Prek Pneuv, just outside Phnom Penh - although it's not known how much damage the angry puffer fish caused.

The bite of the puffer fish is reputed locally to be even worse than the poison from the fish's spines.

It's raining cement

Russian air force planes dropped a 25-kg (55-lb) sack of cement on a suburban Moscow home last week while seeding clouds to prevent rain from spoiling a holiday, Russian media said on Tuesday.

"A pack of cement used in creating ... good weather in the capital region ... failed to pulverize completely at high altitude and fell on the roof of a house, making a hole about 80-100 cm (2.5-3 ft)," police in Naro-Fominsk told agency RIA-Novosti.

Ahead of major public holidays the Russian Air Force often dispatches up to 12 cargo planes carrying loads of silver iodide, liquid nitrogen and cement powder to seed clouds above Moscow and empty the skies of moisture.

June 12 was Russia Day, a patriotic holiday celebrating the country's independence after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Weather specialists said the cement's failure to turn to powder was the first hiccup in 20 years.

The homeowner was not injured, but refused an offer of 50,000 roubles ($2,100) from the air force, saying she would sue for damages and compensation for moral suffering, Interfax said.

Un-cuffed

Police in Linköping, Sweden were given a delicate task on Saturday night as they were called in to help free a loving couple from their handcuffs.

The couple called the police after their sex game had left them in a tricky situation as their keys failed to open their handcuffs and they were left locked to each each other.

Police needed the help of bolt-cutters to prize the pair apart.

"They had hoped that their keys would fit, but we had to use a type of bolt-cutter," said Christian Wehlin for Östergötland police.

There was a further man in the apartment when the police arrived. He had been trying to help the couple out of their bind but had been unable to force the handcuffs open.

Armpit sniffer gets jail & cane

A Singapore man with a penchant for sniffing women's armpits was sentenced to 14 years in jail and 18 strokes of the cane for molesting his victims, a local newspaper reported Friday.

The 36-year-old, who the Straits Times said was mentally unstable, had previous convictions for drug and sex-related offences.

He molested 23 women over the course of 15 months, smelling their armpits and touching them in lifts, staircase landings and their homes, the paper said. He was caught after a housewife reported him to the police.

The court meted out the jail term, normally reserved for hardcore criminals, saying the man was likely to commit crimes again, the paper reported.

Caning on the buttocks is an additional punishment for male criminals in Singapore for offences ranging from vandalism to illegal possession of drugs and rape.

Kidnapped to iron

An Italian man was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend from a pub.
The 43-year-old man dragged the woman out of a pub in the port city of Genoa, shoved her into a car and took her to his home where he made her iron and wash dishes after threatening her, they said.

Police arrived at his house after being tipped off by a friend of the woman who watched the scene at the pub.

The man, who was apparently furious at his ex-girlfriend for leaving him, was arrested on charges of kidnapping, police said.

Dead Mayor re-elected

The residents of a Romanian village knowingly voted in a dead man as their mayor in a municipal election, preferring him to his living opponent.

Neculai Ivascu, 57, who ran the village for almost two decades, died from liver disease just after voting began - but still won the election by a margin of 23 votes.

A local official said the authorities decided to keep the poll open in case Ivascu's opponent, Gheorghe Dobrescu, won, avoiding the need for a re-run.

"I know he died, but I don't want change," a pro-Ivascu villager told Romanian television.

In the end, election authorities gave the post to the runner-up, but some villagers and Ivascu's party, the powerful opposition Social Democrat Party (PSD), have called for a new vote.

Lofty problem

A family moved into their new home only to discover 12 illegal immigrants living in the roof. Lee Bradley was inspecting the loft of his rented terraced house when he made the shock discovery.

Under the roof, a colony of Kosovan migrants had knocked down the wall between his house and the two adjoining properties to create living space for several families.

They had even brought in several deck chairs and a cupboard and the floor was littered with children's toys. The migrants - including a baby - had also managed to install a light in the roof and there were several boxes containing their belongings.

Mr Bradley, a father-of-four, called the police but within 20 minutes the immigrants had fled the property in West Bromwich in the Midlands.

Mr Bradley, who had just moved in with his wife Caroline, 32, and their children, told The Sun:

"I decided to look in the loft space and popped my head through the hatch. There was a light dangling from the roof and about a dozen people - men, women and a baby who started to cry when she saw me. They were eating sandwiches and just stared back at me. I was scared and shut the hatch straight away. The police were here within 20 minutes but the people had gone. They'd taken their mattresses and bedding but left behind a table, chairs and toys. The police think they're illegal Kosovan immigrants but God knows where they are now - they just vanished."

'Tache Case

An RAF fighter pilot has won his battle with the United States Air Force over the size of his handlebar mustache. Flight Lieutenant Chris Ball, who is on an exchange posting with the USAF in Afghanistan was told to trim his distinctive mustache.

The pilot, who is usually based at RAF Lossiemouth, turned to the Queen's Regulations and found the mustache's width did not breach RAF guidelines.

The rules state the mustache should not go below the edge of the mouth.

Despite Flt Lt Ball serving on exchange with the USAF, the RAF still have some say on the attire and appearance of their staff.

The USAF relented and Flt Lt Ball's mustache was left unruffled.