UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Bride goes into labor at reception

TOLEDO, Ohio, March 2 (UPI) -- An Ohio couple celebrating their wedding reception said they had joked their baby might come during the event, but they were still surprised when it happened.

Jamie and Mark Phillips said they planned their wedding for Saturday so they could be married prior to the arrival of their son, but Jamie Phillips said the impatient infant began his descent into the world by giving her contractions while walking down the aisle at the Calvary Assembly of God in Toledo, The Toledo Blade reported Tuesday.

Phillips said she assumed the contraction was a false alarm until her water broke while she was eating at the reception.

"I don't think anybody expected it," Phillips said of the birth of her son, Tova Phillips. "It was a running joke, but when it actually happened everybody was like, 'You've got to be kidding!'"

The party was moved to Flower Hospital in Sylvania, where baby Tova was born.

Hospital staff said they had never seen a bride in labor before.

"I thought I'd seen all the firsts," said Clinical Manager Cindy Ziemkiewicz, who has worked for the hospital since 1975. "This shows you just never know."

Controversial N.J. billboard to come down

NEWARK, N.J., March 2 (UPI) -- The billboard company responsible for a New Jersey ad derided by some as too sexually suggestive said the billboard will come down.

CBS Outdoor, based in New York, said the Newark billboard for AKOO, the clothing company owned by rapper T.I., will be taken down promptly after numerous complaints from city residents, The (Newark) New Jersey Star-Ledger reported Tuesday.

The billboard depicts a kneeling woman looking at the camera while resting her head against the unbuckled jeans of a standing man.

CBS Outdoor said last week the billboard was well within the company's guidelines for decency, but reversed the decision this week after an increase in complaints and media coverage, officials said.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker's office said the official was reviewing options for having the billboard taken down prior to the CBS announcement.

Teens charged with 'Chipmunk' theft

GURNEE, Ill., March 2 (UPI) -- Suburban Chicago police said a Facebook post about the theft of a chipmunk statue from a movie theater led to the arrests of three teenagers.

Gurnee police said two 18-year-olds and a 16-year-old minor were arrested and charged with a local ordinance violation for the Feb. 11 theft of Simon, an "Alvin and the Chipmunks" character, from Gurnee Cinema, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Tuesday.

Investigators said the teens were arrested after one of them made a Facebook post indicating plans to return to the theater and steal Simon's fellow chipmunk, Theodore.

Police said they recovered the missing statue from the Beach Park basement of one of the suspects.

Gurnee Cmdr. Jay J. Patrick said one of the suspects described the theft "as a prank that got out of hand."

Man loses license for walking dog from car

ANNFIELD PLAIN, England, March 2 (UPI) -- A British man is losing his driving privileges for six months after he was caught walking his dog from the driver's seat of his car.

Police in Annfield Plain, England, said Paul Railton, 23, was driving along the street at 5 mph with his dog attached to a leash dangling out the window of his vehicle, The Sun reported Tuesday.

Railton appeared before a justice of the peace and admitted to a charge of not being in proper control of a vehicle. He was issued three points on his license, bringing his point total to 12 and resulting in a loss of driving privileges for six months. He was also fined $99.

"A lot of people exercise their dogs in that manner," Railton said. "It's a joke. I'm not bothered. I knew I'd get three points. I might save myself some money not having a car."