UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Man gives Valentine's kidney

NASHVILLE, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- A Chicago man is celebrating Valentine's Day by giving his girlfriend one of the most precious gifts he has -- his kidney.

Terry Lee said his girlfriend, Trisha Beckwith, was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Lupus after they had been dating for about four months and soon discovered her kidneys were not functioning, The (Nashville) Tennessean reported Tuesday.

Lee said "the decision was easy" whey they found out his blood type was a match.

"I care about her, love her, and want her to live a normal life," he said. "The way I measure love is this: If you take the person out of the equation, and don't like the way your life looks without them, you are probably in love."

The couple traveled to Nashville for the Valentine's Day surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

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100-year-old couple married 71 years

MADISON, N.J., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- A New Jersey couple who are both 100 years old said their love has survived nearly 71 years of marriage.

Grayce and Clarence Dwyer, who still live in their own home in Madison with the help of an aide, said their similar backgrounds, coming from Irish immigrant families and losing their fathers to the 1917 flu epidemic, helped them connect, ABC News reported Tuesday.

"We just always got along -- we came from similar lives," Grayce said. "We were raised by mothers who taught us what was important to have a valuable life, simply put -- take care of each other and your family. Life was not meant to be easy, so you surround yourself with good people and always have a strong faith that will help you through the hard times."

The couple have four children, 17 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Grayce Dwyer said she will likely celebrate Valentine's Day by baking a cake to share with her husband.

Police: Suspect was hiding crack in mouth

AMBRIDGE, Pa., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Police in Pennsylvania said a man seen with a bulging lip during a traffic stop turned out to have 23 pieces of crack cocaine in his mouth.

Ambridge police said they pulled the pickup truck over at 2:38 p.m. because three men were inside but the vehicle only had shoulder belts for two, The Beaver County (Pa.) Times reported Tuesday.

Police said a passenger, Frank Lee Turner, 56, of Ambridge, exited the vehicle during the traffic stop and was heard mumbling with a bulging lip when he was told to return to the truck.

Officers said a piece of crack cocaine fell from Turner's mouth while he was struggling with them and he spat out 22 more individually wrapped pieces of crack cocaine when they used a Taser on him.

Turner was charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest and drug possession with intent to deliver.

Girl holds sign for stealing lesson

MEMPHIS, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- A Memphis family said they are hoping a 13-year-old girl learned a lesson about stealing after being made to stand at the side of a road with a sign.

Lauren Scales, the girl's aunt, said Natia Wade's mother made her stand at the intersection of Poplar and Highland Feb. 12 holding a sign reading "I steal from my family," WPTY-TV, Memphis, reported Tuesday.

"My niece for the past couple of years, quite honestly has been kind of taking things. It hasn't been anything big, but it never really has to be," Scales said.

She said the girl's mother finally had enough when Wade stole her mom's debit card to reactive her cellphone, which had been cut off as a punishment.

"She didn't want to, she really didn't want to and I really didn't want to. Don't get me wrong because you never want to put your child in this situation because they're fragile, but with all of the things that are going on with kids stealing things and all the crime being committed in Memphis, she will not be one of them," Scales said.