Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe $640K hidden in tortilla press machines HEBRON, Ky., Aug. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. Customs officers at a Kentucky airport said they found nearly $640,000 concealed in tortilla press machines shipped from Mexico. Advertisement Brian Bell, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said officers at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport drilled into one of the presses' rollers Saturday when the X-ray scans appeared unusual and found a cache of $100 bills, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Tuesday. Bell said the officers opened up the rest of the 16 press machines and discovered nearly $640,000 in cash. The spokesman said officers were trying to track down the sender in Mexico and the intended U.S. recipient. Police: Man arrested for fake crack GASTONIA, N.C., Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Police in North Carolina said they arrested a man who allegedly packaged rocks of soap to resemble crack cocaine. Advertisement Gastonia police said Victor White, 51, was confronted by an officer who saw him leave an open container of alcohol on a sidewalk early Tuesday and the officer noticed White had also dropped a plastic bag filled with white rocks, the Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, reported Tuesday. "Mr. White told me that it was soap and not crack cocaine and that he had thrown it down when he saw me approaching," Officer Stephen Rollins wrote in a warrant affidavit. White was arrested on a charge of possession with intent to sell and deliver a counterfeit controlled substance. He was jailed in lieu of $2,500 bond. Woman finds large snake on her balcony KARLSTAD, Sweden, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- A Swedish woman who found a boa constrictor more than 9 feet long on her second-floor balcony said she took a picture of the snake before calling police. Ingrid Wassberg, 65, discovered the snake as she was going onto her balcony Monday in Karlstad, Sweden, The Local reported. "I looked down and saw something I didn't recognize, and I realized it was a snake," Wassberg said. She quickly ran back inside her apartment and managed to snap a few pictures for the police, whom she called within minutes of catching sight of the boa. Advertisement Police had to call an animal expert to remove the snake from the apartment building. The handler transported the serpent to a local pet store, where it was being held until its owner is identified. Wassberg says she has not heard of anything like this happening to her friends or neighbors. "I don't really like snakes, so it was a relief when it was taken away, but I checked for more snakes here just in case," she said. "I've gone around and looked and have not seen any, so it's a bit of a mystery." Bachmann trips on Elvis tribute SPARTANBURG, S.C., Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann wished Elvis Presley a "Happy Birthday" Tuesday, only it was the anniversary of his death. The Republican Minnesota congresswoman made the faux pas while campaigning in South Carolina, CNN reported. "Before we get started, let's all say 'Happy Birthday' to Elvis Presley today," Bachmann encouraged people at a "Join Team Bachmann" rally in Spartanburg after Presley's "Promised Land" played. "You can't do better than Elvis Presley and we thought we would celebrate his birthday as we get started celebrating taking our country back to work," she said. Presley was born Jan. 8, 1935, and died Aug. 16, 1977. Advertisement On Sunday during an appearance on CBS' "Meet the Press" Bachmann spent some time explaining her definition of "submissive" after a 2006 clip was played in which she said God directed women to be submissive to their husbands. "Well, there was a debate earlier this week and that question was asked in the debate and for my husband and I submission means respect, mutual respect," she said. "You know, I guess it depends on what word people are used to, but respect is really what it means."
