Offbeat News

WOODBURY, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota police officer who cited a 61-year-old widow for trying to steal groceries from a Walmart had a change of heart when he realized she was caring for numerous children and was desperate. After citing the woman for shoplifting a few days before Thanksgiving,

CLEARWATER FL (AP) – A Florida waitress who had just depleted her bank account to make a car repair received a $2,000 tip on Christmas Eve from regulars with whom she had shared her financial woes. Lynette Baio said the couple left her a check with the eye-popping amount Tuesday. Baio has

EUSTIS, Neb. (AP) — A western Nebraska woman is known in her small town as “The Santa Lady.” The North Platte Telegraph reports that Nancy Laier has collected more than 9,000 items related to jolly old Saint Nick over 50-plus years. Santa items fill both floors and every room of her

HIGH POINT, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina couple awoke just after midnight on Christmas to the sounds of clanking coming from their first floor. In a panic, they hid in a closet and called 911 to report a possible home intrusion. WGHP-TV reports responding Forsyth County deputies searched the

DETROIT (AP) — Here’s a Christmas gift you’d never forget: a kidney. WOOD-TV reports that doctors in Detroit removed a kidney from Logan Bosselaar on Christmas Eve and transplanted it to his wife, Vanessa. They live in the Grand Rapids area. The surgery had been in the works for

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee boy born without functioning hands asked Santa for a new pair last year, and his community came together this Christmas to make the gift possible. The Leaf-Chronicle reports 11-year-old Gavin Sumner was gifted his new prosthetic hands Monday at the

DENVER (AP) — The purpose of recent nighttime drone flights over northeast Colorado has remained a mystery to authorities who are trying to learn the identities of the operators. The Denver Post reported the drones have flown over Phillips and Yuma counties for the last week. The Phillips

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas county has an extra $75 in its coffers thanks to a former thief with a guilty conscience. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that someone anonymously sent the money to Shawnee County along with a letter dated Dec. 18. The letter states that the sender is in a

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. (AP) – A sea lion pup was in critical condition but feisty after it fell more than 30 feet from a footbridge onto a highway in California. The Orange County Register said the 33-pound pup, now named “Lords-a-Leaping,” was dehydrated and emaciated when it was rescued

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — A 65-year-old Colorado man is jailed after witnesses say he robbed a bank in Colorado Springs, walked outside and threw money out of the bag and then said ‘Merry Christmas.’ He then walked to the coffee shop next door and sat down and waited for police. Dion