Watercooler Stories

Woman stabbed over cell phone charger

TOKYO, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Tokyo police allege a woman unlawfully entered a neighbor's apartment to charge her cell phone and then stabbed the occupant with a knife.

The legal resident of the apartment, whose name was not released, said she came home Saturday to find someone else's cell phone in her charger, Kyodo News Agency reported Sunday.

The resident alleged Michiko Hiroya, 34, dropped by later to claim the cell phone and then stabbed her in the hand when she tried to call police. The alleged victim, who is in her 20s, was not seriously wounded.

Hiroya reportedly told police she need to borrow the battery charger because she was having financial difficulties, Kyodo reported. Hiroya allegedly gained entrance to the apartment with a copy of her neighbor's key, which she had duplicated after construction workers left it in the neighbor's mailbox last year, police said.

Police seize 'Obama' brand heroin

MONTICELLO, N.Y., Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Police in upstate New York have seized heroin marketed in packages stamped with an "Obama" brand name.

Sullivan County Undersheriff Eric Claboty described the misuse of the new president's surname as "an absolute disgrace," the New York Daily News reported.

Claboty said the 80 decks of heroin and a large quantity of marijuana were discovered and five suspects seized following a three-month investigation.

Most of the heroin packets had "Obama" stamped on them in red ink.

The Smoking Gun Web site, which headlined the story "The Audacity of Dope," pointed out that drug dealers are fond of brands and frequently misappropriate names for them. Over the years, police have seized bin Laden heroin, Harry Potter Ecstasy and even cocaine branded as Teletubbies, a TV show aimed at toddlers.

Heroin dealers occasionally use seasonal themes as well, like drugs colored green around St. Patrick's Day.

Shut-out ticket holders re-do swearing-in

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Some of the thousands of people inadvertently shut out of Barack Obama's presidential inauguration held a do-over of sorts in Washington.

Gabe Cohen of Denver and his mother, Judy Marks, were among thousands of purple ticket holders denied entrance to last Tuesday's ceremony after waiting more than five hours in the cold, The Washington Post reported. Instead, they spent hours stuck in Washington's Third Street Tunnel because of what officials have called a security snafu.

Cohen, 29, who worked for Obama in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Pennsylvania, decided to make the best of a bad situation and invited all those who were shut out to a noon Saturday do-over near the U.S. Capitol. Cohen said he posted his invitation on a Facebook page called "Survivors of the Purple Tunnel of Doom," which has more than 4,500 members.

Fox News reported at least some showed up. They brought iPods and laptops to the front of the Capitol and played downloaded versions of Obama taking the oath of office and his speech. They waved their inauguration tickets in the air, took a group photo and everybody went home, Fox said.

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies has apologized for the inaugural lapse and says it is investigating to find out what went wrong.

Google Maps misplaces NYC neighborhood

NEW YORK, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A Google glitch is giving drivers trying to reach a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Staten Island directions to the upstate city of Schenectady.

Google has placed the 10308 zip code, the one for the Great Kills section, in Schenectady, which lies a few miles west of Albany about three hours up the Hudson River, the New York Daily News reports. So anyone trying to get to Great Kills and seeking driving directions from Google is being sent north.

"It ought to be fixed, because if somebody does do that they're in for a heck of a ride," said Councilman Vince Ignizio, a Republican representing Staten Island. "I don't think it's a personal attack on my community. I just pray to God nobody actually took that trip."

Andrew Plaitis, owner of Andrew's Diner in Great Kills, is grateful for Staten Island's insularity.

"This is a neighborhood place, everybody knows who we are," he said.