UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Palin compares self to Shakespeare

WASILLA, Alaska, July 20 (UPI) -- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin defended a misspelling on her Twitter account with the argument: "Shakespeare liked to coin new words too."

The 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee's initial tweet Sunday called on peaceful Muslims to "refudiate" plans for a mosque near the World Trade Center site in New York, the Christian Science Monitor reported Tuesday.

"Refudiate" is close in spelling to "repudiate," but Palin instead corrected the post to call for Muslims to "refute the Ground Zero mosque plan."

Palin posted a third time after numerous Twitter users criticized her spelling.

"English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!" Palin tweeted.

Police: Woman hid sandwich in pants

SPARTANBURG, S.C., July 20 (UPI) -- Police in South Carolina said they arrested a woman who allegedly stuffed a McDonald's sandwich into her pants and loudly complained that she never received it.

Investigators said Lori Shannon Turner, 39, of Spartanburg, received two sandwiches Sunday morning at the fast food restaurant and quickly concealed one of them in her pants, the Herald Journal, Spartanburg, reported Tuesday.

Employees at the store told police Turner claimed she was shorted a sandwich and demanded another free of charge. They said she started screaming at workers when they refused.

A Spartanburg County sheriff's deputy arrived at the eatery at about 10:30 a.m. and noticed Turner smelled strongly of alcohol and had a large grease stain on her pants, the newspaper said. She denied concealing anything in her clothing until a female officer was called to the scene for a search and Turner removed the sandwich from her pants.

Turner, who has previous convictions including assault, shoplifting, forgery and resisting arrest, was charged with public disorderly conduct. She was released Sunday after posting $262 bond.

Man detained at airport with 18 monkeys

MEXICO CITY, July 20 (UPI) -- Police in the Mexican capital said they detained a man at an airport who had 18 monkeys, two of them dead, hidden in a belt beneath his clothes.

Mexico's Pubic Safety Department said Roberto Sol Cabrera Zavaleta, 38, who arrived at the Mexico City airport from Lima, Peru, was stopped due to a bulge beneath his shirt and officers discovered he was hiding the small titi monkeys in a belt under his clothes, CNN reported Tuesday.

The suspect told police the monkeys were initially transported in his suitcase, but he moved them to the belt to keep them from being harmed by X-ray machines. He said he purchased the primates as "pets" for $30 in Peru.

Investigators said Titi monkeys are classified as a protected endangered species and require permits to own.

Police said Zavaleta was detained and the investigation is ongoing.

Police: Man enraged by hug refusal

IOWA CITY, Iowa, July 20 (UPI) -- Police in Iowa said they arrested a drunken man who punched another man and dented a vehicle because he was refused a hug.

Iowa City Police said they arrived at Town & Campus Apartments at about 9 p.m. Sunday on a report of an intoxicated man "being aggressive and punching cars," the Iowa City Press-Citizen reported Tuesday.

Officers said they spoke to the complainants and were approached by building resident Dominique Conway, 23, who identified himself as the suspect.

Conway told police he became angry when another man refused to hug him so he punched the man in the face and used his fist to dent the hood of a Ford Explorer.

Police said Conway, who had a blood alcohol content of 0.086, was charged with misdemeanor counts of simple assault and fourth-degree criminal mischief.