Jockstrip: The world as we know it.

Dog saves man who saved him

WILDOMAR, Calif., May 7 (UPI) -- A California man facing a charging mountain lion was saved by the dog he had once saved from being put down, authorities say.

Hoagie, a mixed breed, ran between the Wildomar man and the big cat Tuesday afternoon at a Lake Elsinore campground, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. The dog and mountain lion went at it, with the dog nearly being killed before the cat ran off.

"There's no question the dog saved his life," said Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.

The man and his wife, who had been walking further back, were not hurt. But it took four hours of surgery to save Hoagie, the Times said

Park rangers closed the Blue Jay Campground while they searched for the mountain lion.

Cleveland bridge to be moved 4 inches

CLEVELAND, May 6 (UPI) -- Construction workers in Cleveland face a Herculean task -- moving the 70-million-ton Inner Belt Bridge 4 inches to the west, officials say.

The west end of the span, which carries Interstate 90 over the Cuyahoga River, will be raised off its piers, set on greased plates and then jacked the inches necessary to get it realigned properly, The Plain Dealer reported Wednesday. Once in place, the bridge will be re-bolted to the piers.

The project is to start Friday night and take several days to complete. Most of the work is to be done at night so traffic interruptions should be minimized, officials say.

"Basically we are going to pick it up and open it up," said Tom Hyland, a Ohio Transportation Department construction engineer.

The project is being undertaken for safety reasons, Hyland said. Relocating the bridge will help an expansion joint to work as designed. The joint is closed so tightly now that summer heat could cause it to jam or shut, putting more stress on the span.

Ultimately, the bridge needs major repairs and likely replacement, the Cleveland newspaper said.

Woman rides on alleged thief's hood

NORFOLK, Va., May 6 (UPI) -- A Virginia woman got her purse and wallet back after a pursuit that involved riding on the hood of the alleged thief's car for a quarter mile.

Jeanette Balazsi had lots of help in the chase from two employees at a Norfolk Food Lion who pursued the alleged purse snatcher across the parking lot to an unknown biker on a Harley who followed the car after Balazsi jumped off the hood, The Virginian-Pilot reported.

Jennifer Leigh Jones, 32, was arrested after she got involved in a crash, police said. She has been charged with eluding police, theft and child endangerment because she had a 1-year-old with her.

Balazsi said her wallet was found in the car, and Jones threw her purse out the window, leading to its recovery.

Balazsi said she was standing in front of Jones' car, trying to keep her from driving away when the other woman moved forward and she had to jump to the hood to save herself. She kept hanging on as Jones exited the parking lot and turned onto Military Highway.

"That's the moment when I'm thinking 'What have I got myself into?'" she said.

12th-floor falcons get help from friends

SALT LAKE CITY, May 6 (UPI) -- Human denizens of Salt Lake City are waiting for an annual blessed event, the hatching of chicks in a peregrine falcon nest high on an office building.

The birds now using a nest box on the 12th floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building have produced three eggs, which are expected to hatch around May 22, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. The box has been in use for more than 20 years.

Susan McFarland, a volunteer with the falcons, says that she learned of their existence four years ago after wondering for several years why pigeon feathers drifted past her office window. The pigeons, she discovered, had become falcon food.

McFarland said that fledging, when the chicks leave the nest, is a critical time in a busy city.

"They don't know how to fly like their parents. We try to protect them from traffic and anything else in the environment that may hurt them if they land on the ground," McFarland said. "If they end up on the ground they have no momentum to take off again so they are taken back to the top of the building to try again."