UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Police: Credit card thief uses own name

IOWA CITY, Iowa, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Police say an Iowa man accused of credit card theft forgot who he was supposed to be and allegedly signed his real name on credit card slips.

Kody David Merrival, 21, of Iowa City, Iowa, was arrested after an unidentified man told police that his wallet had been stolen and his credit cards were being used, the Iowa City Press-Citizen reported Thursday.

Police say Merrival allegedly used the card for his own account at a coffee house in the city and signed his real name on a slip for a carton of cigarettes, the Press-Citizen reported. Police caught up with him when he allegedly tried to make a purchase at a deli.

Merrival, who allegedly confessed to using the credit card but denied stealing the wallet, has been charged with an aggravated misdemeanor, the Press-Trust reported.

Mascot gets hung up after skydive

CINCINNATI, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The University of Cincinnati's football season got off to a bad start when the team mascot got hung up while parachuting into the stadium.

The bungled dive is available for viewing on YouTube.

The game against the University of Eastern Kentucky last week was supposed to start with a skydiver wearing a Cincinnati Bearcat costume landing squarely in the middle of the stadium. Instead, the Bearcat's dive was too steep and he ended up with his parachute caught by one of the wires that holds the net behind the goalposts, WLWT-TV in Cincinnati reported.

The chute broke free after a few seconds and the mascot thumped to the ground. He was not injured by the mishap.

Cincinnati won the game 40-7.

Purse snatcher leaves behind fake breast

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla., Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Authorities in Port St. Lucie, Fla., said a cross-dressing purse snatcher dropped one of his fake breasts at the scene of the crime.

Police said the 74-year-old victim told them the perpetrator, a man dressed in women's clothing, pushed her to the ground in the Sears parking lot and sprinted off with her purse, the Palm Beach (Fla.) Post reported Thursday.

The woman said a water-filled condom that had been shoved inside of a tube sock fell out of the attacker's tube top during the incident and police spokesman Officer Robert Vega said fingerprint and DNA tests were performed on the item and a hair stuck to the tube sock to determine the identity of the suspect.

The victim suffered bruises to her knee, left arm and hand during the incident.

Police said the attacker was seen getting into a car with three other men who were also dressed in women's clothing.

Pole dancer getting legal tip from ACLU

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Officials with the American Civil Liberties Union in Pennsylvania say they are helping a pole dancing instructor in a constitutional matter.

ACLU Legal Director Witold J. Walczak said the organization decided to file a federal lawsuit on behalf of Stephanie Babines after the 30-year-old was unfairly denied a dance studio permit in Adams Township, Pa., The New York Times said Thursday.

"Why is the ACLU. here?" Walczak said. "The simple reason is this involves teaching, and that is expression protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution."

The legal issue began when Babines, a computer programmer during the day, decided to teach women how to pole dance at night.

Babines' application for a permit was rejected by Adams Township code enforcement officer Gary Peaco. Peaco, who maintains that her proposed business site would violate regulations that forbid an adult business from being within 1,000 feet of a residential area and bar.

While the ACLU is fighting for Babines' rights, she told the Times she is fighting for the right to help women fell comfortable in their own bodies.

"I love making people feel better about themselves," she said. "Through the classes, their bodies change."