Watercooler Stories

Man gets jail for 109th misdemeanor

WALNUT HILLS, Ohio, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- An Ohio man has been sentenced to 90 days in jail for stealing toothpaste from a store -- his 109th misdemeanor conviction.

Norman Holmes, 41, pleaded guilty to theft Monday after he was accused of taking toothpaste from a CVS store in his hometown, Walnut Hills, and assaulting a pharmacy manager who confronted him, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Tuesday.

Hamilton County Municipal Judge Ted Berry, who sentenced Holmes to 90 days in jail, said that he was shocked by the man's criminal record, which includes at least 34 theft convictions.

"I've seen bad records, but that was probably one of the worst," Berry said. "He's a nuisance."

Holmes has also served five short prison sentences for minor felony convictions including drug charges and breaking and entering.

Tough Colorado kid foils kidnap attempt

NORTHGLENN, Colo., Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Police in the Denver area are looking for a kidnapping suspect who came out on the short end of an alleged attempt to abduct a 12-year-old boy.

The young man told Northglenn, Colo., police that he managed to punch his attacker in the nose, sending him fleeing with a potentially ugly souvenir of the encounter.

"I think I broke his nose," the youth, identified by police only as "Tristin," told the Rocky Mountain News.

The newspaper said Tuesday that Tristan reported being approached by a stranger in a van while he was rollerblading in his neighborhood on Saturday. The suspect allegedly grabbed him and began pulling him toward the vehicle.

"I just kind of freaked out," he said. "He got me kind of close to the van, and I reacted and punched him in the face."

Authorities were looking for a light blue utility van with red tinted windows and possible California license plates driven by a white male with crooked teeth and likely a crooked nose as well.

Pilot landed plane after going blind

GLASGOW, Scotland, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A Scottish pilot who landed his plane blind after suffering a stroke at a altitude of 15,000 feet says his goal is to eventually get back into the cockpit.

Jim O'Neill, 65, landed his four-seat Cessna 182 with the guidance of a Royal Air Force pilot flying next to him after a stroke he suffered in mid-air Oct. 31 left him 90 percent blind, The (Glasgow, Scotland) Daily Record reported Tuesday.

"It was terrifying. Suddenly I couldn't see the dials in front of me," O'Neill said. "I should not be alive. I owe my life -- and those of dozens of people I could have crash-landed on -- to the RAF."

O'Neill said his sight is slowly returning and he hopes to one day return to flying planes.

"My first big objective is to drive and then to fly. It could take two years for the full improvement to come through," he said.

Bank apologizes for $145B overdraft error

IRVINE, Scotland, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A Scottish man said his bank has apologized after his online statement showed his account was overdrawn by $145 billion.

Donald Moffat, 38, a full-time student and part-time care worker, said his account with bank Barclay's showed two withdrawals Tuesday morning of about $72 billion each, the BBC reported Tuesday.

"We knew we still had quite a bit left in the account as we checked last night before we went out," Moffat said Tuesday. "This morning I went out to get a few things, then, when I came back, my account was overdrawn by that amount."

Moffat said the bank apologized, blaming a "technical error" for the mistaken statement. He said the bank offered him $14 in compensation for the phone calls he made to resolve the matter.

Barclay's said the problem was not limited to Moffat's account.

"Earlier today a technical error caused some customer accounts to be incorrectly debited," the bank said in a statement. "The problem was immediately identified and corrected within less than an hour, and all affected customer accounts are now showing correct balances."