Offbeat News

DUBLIN, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia sheriff says he had to get involved when nearly three-fourths of people summoned for jury duty in his county failed to show up for court. WMAZ-TV reports courts in Laurens County faced a small crisis last week when only 60 people showed up for jury duty out of 200

BERLIN (AP) — Firefighters, police and a veterinary clinic combined forces to rescue a red squirrel that had gotten its tiny head stuck in a manhole cover in the western German city of Dortmund. Dortmund’s fire department said Friday they responded Thursday morning to a call about the

HOLMES BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Police in Florida trying to find the rightful owner of a prosthetic ear that washed up on their beach got a happy phone call from South Carolina on Thursday. Holmes Beach Police Sgt. Brian Hall said a woman called saying the rubber ear they posted on Facebook belongs

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Authorities say a woman was trapped in a St. Louis jail stairwell for more than two days after not understanding how to get out of the building. St. Louis Corrections Commissioner Dale Glass said the woman didn’t appear to be suffering when she was found and refused to go

HAUGHTON, La. (AP) — Louisiana authorities say a burglar effectively caught himself red-handed, unwittingly livestreaming his theft of a neighbor’s new surveillance camera.  The Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office says the neighbor watched the crime unfold in real time, and recognized

MALDEN, Mass. (AP) — Police say a man faked a heart attack in a Massachusetts convenience store while his accomplice hopped over the counter to steal money from the register.  Malden police say they responded to the store Sunday afternoon on reports of a theft. Officers were told two white men

BRUNSWICK, Maine (AP) — Thousands have ridden their bicycles in the three-day Trek Across Maine. But only one participant has accomplished the feat on a single wheel. Hugh Sharp from Cape Elizabeth, Maine, rode 180 mileson a unicycle in the annual fundraiser for the American Lung Association,

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida man thought he snagged a deal when he paid $9,100 in an online auction for what he thought was a villa. What he got was a 1-foot-by-100-foot (0.3-meter-by-30-meter) strip of land. The land, valued at only $50, starts on a curb and goes under a wall

SANDY HOOK, N.J. (AP) — A concert series on a popular New Jersey beach is canceled this summer to protect dozens of shorebirds nesting there. Piping plovers usually only visit Sandy Hook but this year, unusually, they’ve decided to build more than 20 nests. Sandy Hook Foundation made the

YORK, ME -Alicia Jessop knew Friday was going to be a memorable day, but she didn’t realize it would be one she’d never forget. The 34-year-old Pepperdine University professor planned to finally visit New England, hitting some of the last seven states she’d never been to, and