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Police: Angry man drives car through window

PINSON, Ala., Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Police in Alabama said a man allegedly drove his truck through a gas station's plate-glass window because he was angry about a pre-pay-only pump.

County resident Roger Mayes, 49, was charged with attempted murder, Jefferson County Chief Deputy Randy Christian said

Police said Mayes angrily stormed into the BP service station convenience store in Pinson about 6:45 a.m. Sunday and complained the pump he was trying to use was not turned on, The Birmingham (Ala.) News reported Wednesday.

Christian said the service station had a pre-pay only system and Mayes's pump had not been turned on because he hadn't paid yet.

"You are going to die and go to hell," the chief deputy quoted Mayes as telling the store clerk.

Investigators said Mayes left the store, got back into his 2001 Ford Explorer and drove the sport utility vehicle through the window of the shop, crashing through the coffee counter and cashier's counter.

"If the clerk had not jumped out the way, he would have run over the clerk," Christian said.

Mayes was subdued with a stun gun after he attempted to charge an arresting deputy, police said. He was charged with attempted murder and resisting arrest and jailed on $63,000 bond.

Male cheerleader alleges discrimination

PALOUSE, Wash., Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A male high school cheerleader in Washington state says administrators discriminated against him by not letting him perform the same routines as the girls.

Benjamin Grundy said he was told at the start of the year at Garfield-Palouse High School in Palouse that he would be able to participate in dance routines and other activities performed by the female cheerleaders, only to be pressured later to wear a mascot's uniform and barred from moving his legs or hips while cheering, Spokane's KXLY-TV reported Wednesday.

Grundy's mother, Suzanne, said her letters to state officials, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups -- including KXLY -- pressured the school to give her son an official cheer uniform and pompoms. However, she said she does not consider the case closed and she wants further measures taken, including seminars against discrimination and reprimands for involved school officials.

"I think the combination of a biracial, mentally challenged gay male may be too much for them," Suzanne Grundy said of school officials.

NYPD repeatedly arrests wrong man

NEW YORK, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A New York man repeatedly mistaken by police for a fugitive with the same name said legal action against the department has not stopped the arrests.

Michael Terry, 37, said he was awarded a $120,000 settlement from the New York Police Department in 2005 after he was jailed for 28 days due to the mix-up with his name and that of a wanted Pennsylvania man, but he has been arrested twice since then due to the same name confusion, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

Terry said he was jailed for a week in 2008 on a warrant meant for the Pennsylvania Terry and a September arrest on the same warrant led to a strip-search and five days behind bars.

He said a second lawsuit against the police department is pending.

Couple ordered to paint pink house white

ACTON BEAUCHAMP, England, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A British couple said they are appealing an order from local officials to repaint their pink cottage white because neighbors called it "offensive" and "tacky."

James Rogers and Alison Hall said they have repainted the Acton Beauchamp, England, cottage about every four years since purchasing it in 1984. But it wasn't until they painted the cottage Rose Madder, a shade of pink, that council planners ordered them to paint the home white and keep it that way, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday.

"It's an absolute disgrace and makes the whole village look tacky," said neighbor Brian Taylor, 62. "Why ruin a perfectly nice home with such an offensive color?"

The couple said officials are pointing to the cottage's status as a grade II-listed property, a category the government reserves for buildings of special architectural or historic interest, in ordering the repainting.

Rogers said he and Hall are appealing to the Government's Planning Inspectorate to have the home delisted so they can paint it whatever color they choose.