What the Hell Theater - 9/29

A 65-year-old Cumberland, Massachusetts, man pleaded guilty to open and gross conduct for washing his car in the nude at a public car wash. Robert Bailey was sentenced to one year of probation after he entered his guilty plea. Prosecutors said Bailey washed his car in the nude in May 31. A female customer at the establishment called police and officers arrived to find Bailey wearing a pair of shorts. Bailey, who was ordered to undergo counseling and will be required to register as a sex offender, was placed on probation in 2002 for a similar charge.

What the Hell Theater - 9/28

Florida deputies arrested a man who allegedly choked his wife during an argument over a Yahtzee game. The wife of Ian Stuart Wood, told deputies she was playing Yahtzee with her husband  at their home when they began to argue. She said when she attempted to leave the home to calm down, Wood shoved her to the ground, pushed his knee into her back and placed his hand over her mouth and started choking her. The victim was able to escape and called authorities from a neighbor's house. He was arrested on charges of domestic battery and kidnapping.


Captain Billy "Shakey" Holder is hanging up his fire helmet. His fellow firefighters believe he's the nation's longest-serving active firefighter. He's retiring from the Irving Fire Department in suburban Dallas. At age 77, Holder's put in 56 years of service. The station's newest fire engine is named "Shakey" in Holder's honor.

What the Hell Theater - 9/27

Thousands of runners may have broken a Guinness World Record for most people running in their underwear in Utah. About 3,000 people showed up Saturday to run from the Gallivan Center in Salt Lake City - some for fun, others to send a message. "This is all about peace, love and supporting equal rights" said one runner. Some say the message may have been lost in the sea of panties and boxers.


It's a little too hot for the Los Angeles Fire Department. Officials are investigating a report that an LAFD fire engine was featured in a porn film. The truck was used as the backdrop for an adult film shot at Venice Beach. A department spokeswoman says the LAFD has "zero tolerance" on such misbehavior. Fire Chief Brian Cummings is ordering an investigation into the fire truck porn.  My guess is the investigation will include dozens of hours of "viewing research".

What the Hell Theater - 9/22

Driving a lawn tractor while drunk is still drunk driving. Police in Ohioville, Pennsylvania, say they were responding to a 911 call reporting an "out of control male" when they encountered 44-year-old Mark Grove driving the tractor down the middle of a road Thursday afternoon. Grove is accused of assaulting a police officer after he was arrested on a drunken-driving charge. Police say a coffee mug sitting on the tractor contained beer and say Grove told them, "I'm drunk. Just take me home." Instead, police arrested Grove. That's when they say he kicked an officer and head-butted a squad-car partition.

What the Hell Theater - 9/21

Police in Sweden said a 2-year-old girl reported missing from her home was playing hide-and-seek with searchers. Skane police said the girl disappeared while her parents were cleaning their home Saturday and a search party including local residents, more than 60 police officers, sniffer dogs and a helicopter scoured the area for the toddler. The search went on for several hours before a police dog discovered the girl sleeping in her bed. Police said the girl must have been moving through her house during the search, playing a hide and seek type game with the searchers."

 

Police have charged a man in western Pennsylvania with driving drunk twice in the same night — the second time about 15 minutes after they released him into the custody of a friend.

Police charge that Brodnick's blood-alcohol limit was at least double what the law allows when he was arrested. Trooper Joseph Christy says troopers released Brodnick to the custody of a "responsible party" but say that person must have dropped of Brodnick at his vehicle because the same trooper who arrested Brodnick saw him driving again.

What the Hell Theater - 9/16

A man accused of trying to kill his lover's husband in Maryland, was foiled when the fake beard he was wearing started to come off. Frank Cipriani is charged with attempted murder. Cipriani was allegedly having an affair with a married colleague. Prosecutors say he had developed an elaborate plan to get rid of the woman's husband, going to great lengths to obtain his fingerprints and typing a fake suicide note to make the death look like a suicide. Prosecutors say the plot was foiled when Cipriani's fake beard fell off and the husband escaped.

Chris Walton has been working on her fingernails for 18 years. And it's finally paying off. Guinness World Records has named Walton the woman with the longest fingernails. Nicknamed "The Dutchess," the Las Vegas woman helped kick-off the new 2012 edition of the Guinness World Records book. Her nails measure 10-feet 2-inches on her left hand, and 9-feet 7-inches on her right hand. The previous record holder for longest nails was Lee Redmond, of Salt Lake City. Her nails measured a total 28 feet in 2008. Redmond lost her nails in a car crash the following year.

What the Hell Theater - 9/15

Officials in a Minnesota town have shelved plans to change the name of Stoner Avenue, despite having about 15 of the street's signs stolen each year. The Bemidji City Council put plans to change the name of the street on hold after residents complained it would force them to update their driver's licenses and other documents, including bank records. Council members said they will instead seek options for making the signs less prone to theft. City officials said about 10 of the signs currently need to be replaced. Theft of the signs has cost the city about $20,000 during the past decade. The avenue was named for 19th century area surveyor Marcus Stoner.

The Belmont Park racetrack in New York state said the first three winners on the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks bore the numbers 9, 1 and 1. The Elmont track, which served as a staging area for workers and emergency vehicles in the days following the attacks, said horses bearing the numbers were the first three winners Sunday. "The odds were probably about a million to one," said David Jacobson, the trainer at Drawing Away Stable, which owns the first two winners from Sunday. The pick-three result paid $18.60 for a $2 bet, the racetrack said.

What the Hell Theater - 9/14

Google Maps' street view application has captured some revealing background images in its time, but nothing quite as revealing as what one of the tech giant's roving camera cars captured recently while mapping in Miami. A woman in Miami was pictured standing naked on a patio outside a home in broad daylight, holding a jug. The photo was taken this year by one of Google's roving camera cars. Google staffers blurred out her face and private areas after the photo went viral.

A Jacksonville, Florida, woman says her neighbor is behind a harassment campaign that has resulted in 150 pounds of unsolicited mail arriving at her home. Dana Kraus said the unwanted items, include about 70 magazine subscriptions which left her on the hook for about $1,000. Kraus believes her neighbor, Randall Green, is behind the campaign. Kraus obtained an injunction against Green after authorities discovered he had ordered materials from a hair restoration company in her name.

A photographer visiting New York's Bronx Zoo found an escaped kudu antelope in a pedestrian area. Andrew Lichtenstein was visiting the zoo Sunday when he stumbled upon the animal, one of two male kudus obtained by the zoo, in a walking area. "I just turned the corner and there was a kudu," Lichtenstein said. "It's a large animal." Lichtenstein said he tried calling the zoo to inform officials, but the number went straight to voicemail. He said a food stand worker was able to contact zookeepers. The photographer said officials arrived and opened the gate to the exhibit, allowing the kudu to walk back into the enclosure on its own.

What the Hell Theater - 9/13

Pharmacist Jeremy Hoven is suing Walgreens, claiming he was unjustly fired. Hoven fired a gun at armed robbers while working in a Grand Rapids, Michigan, drug store. Hoven says he feared for his life after one of the bandits tried to shoot him. Attorneys for the drug chain say the termination was based on a "plausible and legitimate business reason." Hoven has a concealed weapons permit, but he apparently didn't tell his employer about his gun.

What the Hell Theater - 9/7

An out-of-work New York man said he found a way to bolster his finances by telling jokes for $1 a laugh in Central Park. Jason Schneider, 26, known as Jason the Joke Guy to park-goers, said he first decided to spend the day telling $1 jokes with a money-back laughter guarantee in April, and he made $140 during his first 6 hours. Schneider, who said he failed to find steady work after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007, said he takes his humorous profession seriously. "I write 20 jokes a day, and maybe two are good enough to use in the park. And of those, maybe one will stick," he said.


A Burger King official says a tattered U.S. flag outside one of the fast-food chain's Ohio restaurants will be replaced after an angry Vietnam veteran took it down. John Henderson, 63, was so upset by the deteriorated condition of the huge flag at the Burger King in Perkins Township that he was unable to finish his burger. He went outside, brought the flag down and took it to a local Veterans of Foreign Wars hall for retirement. Henderson said a Burger King employee reclaimed the flag from the VFW hall and mentioned the possibility of filing charges. However, Elizabeth Hanson, a training supervisor with Burger King, arranged to meet with Henderson face-to-face Sunday and promised him the flag would be replaced. Hanson said Henderson will be invited to the flag-raising ceremony once a new flag is obtained.

What the Hell Theater - 9/2

Detroit police conducting a gun buyback event gave out cash for 739 guns, but one guy got nothing for a pair of grenades he brought in. The Detroit Police Department said the Tuesday event at Second Ebenezer Church collected 339 rifles, 376 handguns, 24 assault rifles and two grenades, which were promptly detonated by authorities. Sgt. Eren Stephens said the man was paid for some guns he brought in, "but we don't buy grenades." Stephens said the event was so successful that event partner Continental Management used up the $20,000 it brought for the exchanges.

A 22-year-old Alaska woman said she punched a black bear in the face to save her small dog from being turned into bear chow. Juneau resident Brooke Collins hit the bear Sunday night to save her dachshund, Fudge. She discovered the bear crouched down, clutching Fudge in its paws and biting the back of his neck. "It had her kind of like when they eat salmon," Collins said. "I was freaking out. I was screaming at it. My dog was screaming. I ran up to it ... I just punched it right in the snout and it let go." Collins said her boyfriend then scared the bear away. "I think it was more startled than anything," she said. The dog was not seriously hurt in the attack, but Collins said she's tending to the animal's wounds and keeping her inside for now.