Odd News

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A new bridge over Scotland's Firth of Forth has three local councils disputing its name two years before it is expected to open.

SPRING HILL, Fla., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Walt Disney World in Florida nearly banned a man who looks like Santa Claus, but eventually just told him to quit telling kids in the park he was the real deal.

TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A Florida family has its beloved dog back, two years after Sam I Am vanished during the 2004 hurricane season and somehow ended up near Chicago.

PORTAGE, Wis., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The son of a Wisconsin man injured in a highway rollover accident suffered the same fate himself in a separate wreck in the same place three hours later.

LONDON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Parents are accusing some British schools of forcing them to buy recordings and photos of their kids in school Christmas plays rather than taking their own.

UPI almanac for Saturday, Dec. 16, 2006.

Book: Animals guilty of human vices ... Obesity warning on clothing suggested ... Display features Nazi gingerbread men ... Inebriated lawmakers vote on budget ... UPI Quirks in the News.

CALVERTON, N.Y., Dec. 15 (UPI) -- More than a year after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans Steven Cure has been reunited with his best friend, dog Rocky. "I knew he was alive," Cure told the New York Daily News. "I never gave up, but I had to let go."

WELLINGTON, Ohio, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- An Ohio artist who wants to grab people's attention has done just that with a storefront holiday display featuring gingerbread men at a Nazi rally.

OSLO, Norway, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- A number of lawmakers in Norway have apparently been taking care of business under the influence of alcohol.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- A California woman found a strung-out burglar when she went to investigate strange noises coming from her home office.

LONDON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Health specialists in Britain want large-size clothing to carry notices, including whom to call for help in losing weight, warning of the danger of obesity.

ROME, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- A biologist at Italy's University of Bologna has written a book claiming animals indulge in many of the same vices as humans.

BRUSSELS, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Viewers of Belgian public broadcasting station RTBF have complained after the station staged a televised hoax depicting a split of the country.

Ga. to restore small towns with ZIP codes ... Unknown men set up nativity scene ... Chinese marriage brokers give bad husbands ... S. Korea plans to build English-only town ... Watercooler stories from UPI.