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Car burglars get only 'Jesus'

ELYRIA, Ohio, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- An Ohio family says burglars who broke into their car outside a restaurant only made off with Bibles, Sunday school lessons and holy communion supplies.

Noel and Pam Cash said their family went out to eat in Medina Township, near Elyria, with friends after church Sunday and they emerged from the restaurant to find a back window had been smashed out of their sport utility vehicle, WKYC-TV, Cleveland, reported.

However, they said the burglars missed Pam's purse, which was under a seat, and left the GPS unit in place. Instead, Noel said, "they got Jesus."

The couple said the burglars only took shopping bags from the back of the vehicle and the bags contained Bibles, Sunday school lessons and materials used for holy communion.

"All you can do is pray that they don't do it to anyone else or hurt anybody that it's serious where they take their life, something from them really, really serious, like their identity," Pam said.

Police said there has been a rash of car break-ins in the area.

124 to compete in Dreidel Spin-Off

NEW YORK, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Organizers of the Major League Dreidel Spin-off in New York said 124 people are registered to spin the Hanukkah tops at this year's event.

Eric Pavony, 31, who founded the annual event in 2005, said the top spinners from miles around are expected to turn up Thursday at the Knitting Factory to compete for the crystal dreidel trophy, the New York Daily News reported.

Pavony said many competitors spin under holiday-themed aliases, including Spinny the Pooh, the Spincredible Hulk, Spindiana Jones and Oscar de la Menorah.

"First and foremost, it's just an epic holiday Hanukkah party," Pavony said. "Then, of course, there's the competition. It's fierce, and people get into it. There's fist-pumping, there's high-fiving, there's chest bumps. These spinners do sweat, and just like any other sport, nerves do play a role."

Deer escapes church nativity scene

LAKELAND, Fla., Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said a deer named Rudolph escaped from a church nativity scene and was seen running around the area.

Lakeland police said they received a call from a resident at 5:50 a.m. about a deer running around his property and they quickly determined it was Rudolph, nicknamed Rudy, a muntjac deer portraying a reindeer in the Highland Park Church of the Nazarene nativity scene, the Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday.

Sgt. Terri Smith said church personnel chased the deer around the property and it was eventually captured while hiding under the church's elf house in its Bethlehem Village area.

Ken Suarez, the deer's owner, said he brought the animal home after the incident.

The church said many other live animals remain in the display, which will be opened to the public from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Emu runs through R.I. town

WEST GREENWICH, R.I., Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A Rhode Island man said he recaptured an escaped emu running rampant through town, although he had the help of an animal control officer.

West Greenwich Police Chief Ronald Lepre said animal control Officer Wendy Tavares was dispatched after a resident called police with a report of a "big chicken" running through a yard and she soon made contact with the bird's owner, Jon Lonngren, The Providence (R.I.) Journal reported.

Lonngren said the emu and three others are kept enclosed by an electric fence, but something apparently spooked the bird Monday and it ran straight through the barrier.

"They get spooked real easy. If something spooks them and they start running, there's not much that can stop them," he said of the large flightless birds, which are native to Australia.

Tavares, who helped recapture another escaped emu from Lonngren's farm a few months ago, said she and the bird's owner were able to get a rope around its legs, grab it by the neck and lead it into her animal control vehicle.

It jumped right in and laid down on the ride home. It seemed to like the ride. When we got it back to the Lonngren house, "we let it walk right back into its pen," Tavares said.