Odd News

EAU CLAIRE, Wis., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin woman says she was pleasantly surprised to hear two maids at a local hotel had found the heirloom jewelry she had feared was lost forever.

White House rejects impeachment ornament ... Woman protests fine with pennies ... Boy, home alone, copes with burglars ... Obama laments loss of Richardson's beard ... Watercooler stories from UPI.

Police say man chased down stolen pickup ... Utah sen. seeks Merry Christmas resolution ... Hotel builds $200,000 home for ducks ... 55,000 mistakenly get free money flier ... The world as we know it from UPI.

UPI Almanac for Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008.

LINCOLN, England, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A street cleaner in Lincoln, England, says police have allowed him to keep a bag containing an estimated $20,000 in shredded cash he found in a trash bin.

LONDON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The Royal Shakespeare Company of Stratford-upon-Avon, England, says its production of "Hamlet" will no longer use a real human skull when it moves to London.

ST. AUSTELL, England, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- An English family says their 27-year-old cat is believed to be the oldest living feline in Britain and may be the oldest living cat in the world.

PIACENZA, Italy, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Police say a counterfeiting ring in Piacenza, Italy, was exposed after lap dancers identified bills shoved into their panties as fakes.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A pair of would-be mugging victims at a hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, fought back and knocked their attacker unconscious, police say.

TULSA, Okla., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Police in Tulsa, Okla., say a man who saw his pickup truck being stolen ran after it, jumped aboard, kicked out the rear window and chased off the thief.

SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A Utah state lawmaker says the Legislature will be presented with a resolution asking retailers not to exclude "Merry Christmas" from their holiday greetings.

MEMPHIS, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The Peabody hotel in Memphis says it spent about $200,000 building the Duck Palace, a rooftop domicile for its famous ducks.

GRANTVILLE, Pa., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Officials at Hollywood Casino in Grantville, Pa., said a flier promising free money to play the slot machines was mistakenly sent to 55,000 people.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A spokeswoman for first lady Laura Bush said a Christmas tree ornament calling for the impeachment of President Bush will not hang on the White House tree.

CHISELHURST, England, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A Chiselhurst, England, woman said she paid a $160 parking fine in pennies after her parking pass fell off her windshield.