UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Mugger leaves behind phone with pics

FORT LAUNDERDALE, Fla., June 19 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said they are searching for a suspected mugger who they obtained photos of when he left his cellphone behind at a crime scene.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office said the victim told them the robber approached him from the back while he was walking near Fort Lauderdale around 8 p.m. May 30 and held what he believed to be a box cutter to his throat, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Tuesday.

The victim fought with the mugger and the suspect dropped his cellphone, investigators said. Deputies said the phone contained at least three photos matching the victim's description of the attacker.

The sheriff's office released the photos to the public Monday. Deputies said a reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest.

Couple finds wedding ring in used car

EL PASO, Texas, June 19 (UPI) -- A California couple said they are trying to find the rightful owner of a wedding ring found wedged in the backseat of a car that originated in Texas.

Steve and Shannon Callahan of Sacramento said they were digging between the seats of their 2004 Pontiac Grand Am for a missing cellphone when they discovered the 5-chip diamond, gold wedding ring between the seats, the El Paso (Texas) Times reported Tuesday.

The couple said they believe the car originated more than 1,000 miles away, in El Paso, and they have thus far been unable to identify whoever owned the car before they bought it used from Sunshine Motors.

"We just want to make sure it gets to its rightful owner," Shannon Callahan said. "We know the car was in a pretty bad accident so there is always the possibility that the owner didn't survive. But there may be grandchildren or children who might want it. Either way, the ring belongs to somebody and not to us."

"I would really like to return the ring," she said. "It's not like it's just a lost set of keys. It's a token of somebody's love, it's a milestone in a couple's life."

Tossed-out money found in recycling plant

NEW YORK, June 19 (UPI) -- It took a search of a recycling plant, but a New York boy was reunited with his life savings mistakenly thrown away with an old computer, she said.

On return from a Boy Scout encampment, Max Becker, 12, noticed the central processing unit of his old computer was missing and informed his mother he had stored a coffee cup and a wallet, containing $300 and several gift cards, in it.

"I was so upset because it's like all my money," Max told the NBC "Today" show Tuesday.

His mother, Dorothy Ferrante, sent the computer tower away for recycling, and after a flurry of telephone calls, learned it had been taken to a recycling plant in Edison, N.J. After four days of searching through 700 scrapped computers at the plant, the money was located and returned, she said.

Max, appearing on the television show with his mother and recycling plant manager Jimmy Coe, was asked why he kept his money in an old computer.

"I was hiding it from my twin sister," he said, loud enough to ensure his sister Drew, standing out of the camera's range, could hear.

Michigan man has 29 college degrees

KALAMAZOO, Mich., June 19 (UPI) -- A 71-year-old Michigan man with 29 college degrees said he now has his sights set on a 30th.

Michael Nicholson of Kalamazoo said he has one bachelor's degree, two associate's degrees, 22 master's degrees, three specialist degrees and one doctoral degree, ABC News reported Tuesday.

Nicholson, whose degrees include educational leadership, library science, school psychology, home economics, health education and law enforcement, said he now has his sights set on a master's degree in criminal justice.

"I just stayed in school and took menial jobs to pay for the education and just made a point of getting more degrees and eventually I retired so that I could go full time to school," Nicholson said.

"It's stimulation to go to the class, look at the material that's required and meet the teacher and students. It makes life interesting for me," he said. "Otherwise, things would be pretty dull."

Nicholson said he has an ultimate goal for his education.

"I would like to get to 33 or 34. I'm almost there," he said. "When I complete that, I'll feel like I've completed my basic education. After that, if I'm still alive -- that would take me to 80 or 81 -- I would then be free to pursue any type of degree."