Offbeat News

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut police department has reached a deal with a fugitive that would have him surrender if enough people respond to a wanted poster on social media, an agreement that at least one expert calls unethical. Jose Simms, 29, who is believed to be somewhere in New

MARLBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Whoever broke into a Massachusetts man’s home last week didn’t take a thing. They did, however, leave the house spotless. Nate Roman tells The Boston Globe that when he returned to his Marlborough home from work May 15, he could tell a stranger had been

CLINTON, Maine (AP) — A natural gas distribution company in Maine plans to get into the production side of things with a poop-to-gas renewable energy project to heat homes. Summit Utilities is partnering with Maine’s dairy industry through construction of an anaerobic digester in Clinton

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A police camera caught a beaver’s surprise appearance near a traffic stop in Alaska’s largest city. Anchorage police posted the brief video on the department’s Facebook page Wednesday showing the creature ambling into the road between two patrol

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Staff at a U.S. Air Force base in Florida had to bring in a front-end loader to remove an alligator that was lounging on a runway. The Tampa Bay Times reports that the large reptile was spotted Tuesday morning on a MacDill Air Force Base flight line. The base shared a photo

TEANECK, N.J. (AP) — A little birdie has displaced soccer players in New Jersey. The Record reports that a killdeer laid its eggs about two weeks ago on a patch of synthetic grass near the south goal in Teaneck’s Votee Park. Public works employees have cordoned off the nest with cones and

LONDON (AP) — A British restaurant has given some customers an unexpected treat, accidentally serving them a 4,500-pound ($5,760) bottle of red wine. The Hawksmoor Manchester said on Twitter it hoped the diners “enjoyed your evening” after getting the 2001 bottle of Chateau le Pin

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine election officials settled a rare tie in a mayoral race on Friday by tossing a coin. They proclaimed Sue Cudilla the new mayor of the town of Araceli in western Palawan province after she won a best-of-three coin flip by picking tails. Both Cudilla, a

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say somebody stole a tripod from a California Department of Transportation crew and then dropped it from an overpass onto a Sacramento freeway, impaling the lung of a passenger in a van. The driver of the van, Tim Page, tells KCRA-TV that he was on