Jockstrip: The world as we know it.

Report of town with no men confuses Swedes

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Swedish tourism officials said they are skeptical of claims in Chinese media outlets of a mythical town in the Scandinavian country where no men are allowed.

Claes Bertilson, a spokesman for Sweden's Association of Local Authorities and Regions, said he has never heard of Chako Paul City, which China's state-run Xinhua news agency said was founded in a wooded region of northern Sweden in 1820, The Local reported Monday.

"I've never heard anything about it," he said.

Xinhua said men who attempt to enter the "women-only" city are "beaten half to death" by police and China's Harbin News said many women in the city turn to homosexuality "because they could not suppress their sexual needs."

Bertilson said he does not know where the Chinese outlets got their information.

"I have no idea where something like this could have come from," he said.

Husky 'adopts' kittens

OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 6 (UPI) -- A California woman said bringing a pair of kittens into her house had an unexpected side effect -- turning her Siberian husky into a foster mom.

Sarah Kidder said she came across the kittens and their guardian, a male cat she said she believes to be their father, while walking her 12-year-old dog, Tamerack, near her Oakland home last month, the Oakland Tribune reported Monday.

Kidder said she discovered the cat and kittens had been abandoned by neighbors who moved away. She said she brought the trio into her house and Tamerack was immediately taken with the new arrivals.

"She was like, 'Oooh, kittens!' I was a little concerned at first because she was so excited, but then I realized she was excited because she wanted to mother them," Kidder said. "She would follow them around and lick their heads and make sure they were OK. After 24 hours, they started following her around. Whenever she sat down, they sat down, too."

Kidder said she and the dog will be sad to put the cats up for adoption.

"I'm going to take her up to the snow as a reward," Kidder said. "If she's still missing them after that, I'll guess I'll have to start fostering more kittens."

Robber fled when clerk demanded gun proof

HAVERHILL, Mass., Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Police in Massachusetts said a would-be robber abandoned his plans when a clerk demanded to see the gun he claimed to be concealing.

Investigators said Adam Alsarabi, 22, of Lawrence, Mass., allegedly approached a cashier at White Hen Pantry in Haverhill, Mass., at about 12:42 a.m. Friday and said he had a gun and wanted money from the register, The (North Andover, Mass.) Eagle Tribune reported.

However, police said the suspect fled the store when the clerk insisted on seeing the gun and officers soon found him hiding in the woods. He was arrested without incident and police said they did not find a gun.

Detective Sgt. Robert Pistone cautioned citizens not to try to emulate the clerk's actions.

"We don't recommend this course of action," said. "Why take the chance with your life over the loss of money? There is no need to be a hero."

'Vampires' wed at Halloween-themed wedding

COLUMBIA STATION, Ohio, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- A Halloween-themed wedding in Ohio featured the happy couple in vampire garb, a pirate best man and a minister dressed as a psychotic killer.

Jack Holsinger, 61, who dressed as Dracula for his nuptials, was driven to the altar at the Rockin'-R-Ranch in Columbia Station in a hearse and carried to his spot in a coffin, where he was met by his vampire bride Connie Spitznagel, 44, The Chronicle-Telegram of Elyria, Ohio, reported.

Holsinger's son, also named Jack, served as best man while dressed as Jack Sparrow from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series.

Minister Greg Kopp married the couple in his guise as Jason, the killer from the "Friday the 13th" horror film franchise.

Holsinger said the theme was his bride's idea.

"This is her first wedding," he said. "She had a common-law marriage the first time around, so she never really got a wedding. It's what she wanted and it's about her. It's her time. Whatever she wanted."