Curses, Foiled Again
Joey Patterson, 22, eluded Idaho authorities for several months, but then he posted his whereabouts on Facebook. He invited friends to play softball at Armory Softball Field in Caldwell. That's where police found him. Monitoring social media has led officers to suspects before, Sgt. Joey Hoadley noted, explaining, "Surprisingly, even fugitives can't keep from updating their Facebook status." (Associated Press)
• Police arrested three suspects in a tailgate-stealing spree in Volusia County, Fla., after one of them tried to return one of the nine stolen tailgates to claim a reward. The victim paid the reward but called deputies, who located the trio. (Orlando's WESH-TV)
Opportunity Knocks
The world's largest international sperm bank moved its main U.S. office from New York to Orlando, Fla. Cryos International is definitely targeting college students, the company's Jim Londeree said, noting nearby University of Central Florida is among the largest universities in the nation, providing "a huge donor base here." He added that approved donors "can make up to $750 a month." (Orlando Sentinel)
Sarah Palin Toll Bridge
Russia unveiled plans to build a high-speed railway and freeway link between London and the United States—via Siberia. State railway boss Vladimir Yakunin, who helped develop the plan, dubbed Trans-Eurasian Belt Development (TERP), promised that the proposed 12,400-mile route would "supercharge" global economic growth by connecting Russia's oil and gas pipelines to the rest of the world. (Britain's The Independent)
Missing the Point
A speaker at Australia's sixth annual National Disability Summit had to be lifted onto the stage because there was no ramp for wheelchairs or mobility scooters. In addition, disabled participants, who each paid $2,000 to attend the privately organized event, were all seated at one table in the back of the room. A blog post by participant Jax Jacki Brown noted that the "accessible toilet was filled with chairs and used as a storage space," and "the food provided was up on really tall tables" so wheelchair users couldn't reach it. (Australia's ABC News)
Do As I Say, Not As I Do
The Rev. Shaun O. Harrison, 55, a Boston educator known for preaching anti-violence to young people, was charged with the execution-style shooting of a 17-year-old boy he had enlisted to sell marijuana for him. Prosecutors said Harrison shot the youth in the back of the head in Roxbury, Mass. The victim survived. Harrison denied charges stemming from the shooting, but Suffolk Assistant District Attorney David Bradley said a surveillance system at a nearby business recorded the episode. (Springfield's The Republican)
Slightest Provocation
Police said Phyllis D. Jefferson, 50, stabbed her 61-year-old boyfriend while the two were eating chips and salsa at home in Akron, Ohio, after they got into an argument over who was eating all the salsa. (Cleveland's WKYC-TV)
• Jerome Clemons, 44, set fire to his house in Boynton Beach, Fla., authorities there said, after his niece refused to give him a ride to a liquor store. (South Florida Sun Sentinel)
The Sound of No Hand Clapping
Organizers of Britain's National Union of Students (NUS) Women's Conference asked delegates to use jazz hands instead of clapping to avoid "triggering anxiety." The aim, delegate Nona Buckley-Irvine explained, is "to show appreciation of someone's point without interrupting or causing disturbance." Gee Linford-Grayson agreed. "Plus," she added, "who doesn't like jazz hands?" (BBC News)
Obvious Solution
California's death row, the country's largest, has run out of room. With 738 inmates in lethal limbo since a court invalidated the state's lethal injection method nearly a decade ago, Gov. Jerry Brown asked the Legislature for more than $3 million to open 100 new cells for condemned men at San Quentin Prison, which already has 715 inmates facing execution. Brown's request, the Los Angeles Times said, "anticipates an average of 20 new arrivals on death row yearly" without a decrease in the existing condemned population. (NPR)
Way to Go
Stephan Woytack, 74, died while attaching a cross to a grave marker at a family plot in Scranton, Pa. The tombstone unexpectedly tilted off its base, toppled and crushed him to death, according to police Officer Andy Kerecman, who called the accident "freaky." (New York Daily News)
Bottoms Are Tops
Luxury toilet seats topped the list of souvenirs brought home by the record number of Chinese tourists who celebrated this lunar new-year holiday in Japan. Costing around $540, the heated seats feature pulsating water jets, deodorizers and even music to cover up the sound of nature's call. Many offer hands-free lid opening; some are portable and battery-operated. China's state-run media reported that many of the toilet seats sold in Japan were made in China. (The Economist)
Way to Go
Stephan Woytack, 74, died while attaching a cross to a grave marker at a family plot in Scranton, Pa. The tombstone unexpectedly tilted off its base, toppled and crushed him to death, according to police Officer Andy Kerecman, who called the accident "freaky." (New York Daily News)
Do As I Say, Not As I Do
The Rev. Shaun O. Harrison, 55, a Boston educator known for preaching anti-violence to young people, was charged with the execution-style shooting of a 17-year-old boy he had enlisted to sell marijuana for him. Prosecutors said Harrison shot the youth in the back of the head in Roxbury, Mass. The victim survived. Harrison denied charges stemming from the shooting, but Suffolk Assistant District Attorney David Bradley said a surveillance system at a nearby business recorded the episode. (Springfield's The Republican)
Border Dispute
Roseanne Di Guilio, who has lived in a house that straddles the New York-Connecticut line since 1997, was surprised to learn that she no longer owns the half of her house on the New York side because her mortgage servicer failed to pay property taxes. Di Guilio said she was never notified, nor did she know that Putnam County foreclosed on the property. Her neighbor, Althea Jacob, bought the 0.2 acres at county auction in 2010 for $275 and now owns Di Guilio's living room, kitchen and sun porch and part of her bathroom. Jacob never told Di Guilio, who continued paying upkeep and insurance until she found out the truth. Jacob then offered to sell her back the property for $150,000. She lowered her asking price to $35,000, but Di Guilio sought to have the New York Supreme Court overturn the foreclosure. The outcome is uncertain because she didn't bring the action within the two-year statute of limitations. (Westchester County's The Journal News)
Compiled from mainstream news sources by Roland Sweet. Authentication on demand.
