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Officials swim canal after sewage cleanup

HOLLYWOOD, Fla., Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A pair of officials in a Florida city swam across a canal to demonstrate it is once again safe for swimming following cleanup of a sewage spill.

Hollywood City Commissioner Heidi O'Sheehan and Interim City Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark accepted a challenge presented by a resident at Wednesday's city commission meeting and swam across the C-10 canal to demonstrate its renewed cleanliness following a Nov. 16 sewage dump, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Thursday.

"It was silly and fun, but I figured if we were going to be telling people it was safe, we should show them," O'Sheehan said.

"The water was great!" she said. "We were in ground zero. I even brought my son with us."

The swim came on the same day administrators lifted the "No Swimming, Fishing and Wading Advisory" issued after the dump, which occurred after a 48-inch sewer main broke in the middle of Taft Street and the sewage was diverted to the canal to prevent homes from flooding.

Swedes sell sausage under name Obamas

KAVLINGE, Sweden, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The proprietors of the Obamas food cart in Sweden said they gave their business the name because they "really like" U.S. President Barack Obama.

Amro Hawary, who is from Egypt, and his wife, Soumia, who is from Morocco, said they started selling their falafel, kebab and sausages under the Obamas name at their Kavlinge food cart behind a shopping center, nearly three years ago, The Local reported Thursday.

"I named it Obamas because I really like the American President Obama," Amro Harway said.

Harway said he has been following U.S. politics since spending some time in the country during the 1960s.

"My husband loves him," Soumia Hawary said. "If we had children he would name our son Obama, and our daughter, she would be Michelle."

'Spider-Man' robber hits D.C.-area bank

FORT WASHINGTON, Md., Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A gunman wearing a Spider-Man mask and a sweater with a spider web design robbed a bank in a Maryland suburb of Washington, police said.

Prince George's County police said the man entered a BB&T bank branch in Fort Washington about 3:18 p.m. EST Wednesday, showed a silver handgun and gave a note to a teller demanding money, The Washington Post reported.

After the teller gave him some money, the robber fled in a dark "Chrysler Pacifica-style vehicle," police said.

Police seek 'Chewbacca' gunman

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said they were searching for a man who wore a Chewbacca mask when he and a pair of young men were involved in a shooting.

West Palm Beach Police said they responded to a report of a shooting Nov. 30 and a woman who witnessed the incident said the Chewbacca-masked shooter was driving a car with two men -- later identified as Jodeci Lamar Window, 19, and Mario Johnson, 21 -- when they pulled up to a home and began shooting at Kyle Roney, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Thursday.

The witness said Roney, who was on the front stairs of a home and was not injured, is suspected by a local gang of being involved in a drug theft. Police said Roney did not cooperate with the investigation.

The woman said the shooters drove off when a man she identified as "Saint" returned fire.

The witness picked Window and Johnson, who were not masked, out of a photo lineup. They were arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.