UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

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$100M apartment hits the market

NEW YORK, July 31 (UPI) -- The most expensive apartment in the United States, a New York triplex in Manhattan's CitySpire building, is being listed for $100 million, a listing says.

Raphael De Niro, son of actor Robert De Niro and an agent for Prudential Douglas Elliman, has the exclusive listing on the 73rd through 76th floor of the building, which is owned by real estate developer Steven Klar, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday.

The property features a three-story private elevator, 360-degree views of the city, a silver closet, a wine room with space for more than 1,000 bottles, a dining room that can seat 20 and inlaid marble floors.

The listing describes the apartment as a "one-of-a-kind gem [that] ranks amongst the most elite homes in America."

Man pulls out pockets, drops cocaine

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla., July 31 (UPI) -- Florida police said a man who pulled out his pants pocket to show he was not carrying drugs dropped a bag of cocaine onto the ground.

Fort Walton Beach police said they responded to the Rancho Alegre bar July 15 on a report of a drug dealer on the premises and the suspect, Herminio Hurtado-Resendiz, 24, voluntarily pulled out his pants pockets for officers to show he was not carrying drugs, the Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach, reported Tuesday.

However, Hurtado-Resendiz dropped a bag of white powder on the ground in the process of pulling out his pockets and the substance tested positive for cocaine.

Hurtado-Resendiz was charged with possession of a controlled substance and is due in court Aug 21.

Fake cop busted by off-duty officer

SIESTA KEY, Fla., July 31 (UPI) -- A Florida man who allegedly falsely claimed to be a police officer and ordered people off the beach was busted by an off-duty officer, authorities said.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office said Oscar Mondeja, 39, claimed to be a law enforcement officer at a Siesta Key beach, but he raised the suspicions of an off-duty Venice police officer when he was unable to show any credentials, the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune reported Tuesday.

The sheriff's office said Mondeja also had a dog with him that he claimed was a police dog.

Deputies arrived and said Mondeja fought with them while he was being arrested. He was charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer and having a dog on the beach.

Zombies drown out Westboro Baptists

DUPONT, Wash., July 31 (UPI) -- A demonstration by the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church in Washington state was interrupted by dozens of counter-protesters dressed as zombies.

Melissa Neace, 27, of Spanaway, said she rallied the zombie hoards on Facebook after discovering eight members of the Kansas-based church were planning a demonstration Sunday at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in DuPont, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash., reported Tuesday.

Westboro's lawyer sent a fax to DuPont Police Chief Ron Goodpaster about the church's plans to gather "for a public demonstration/outdoor religious service regarding the judgment of God with respect to the dangers of promoting homosexuality, and the rest of the filthy manner of life and idol worshipping of this nation."

Neace said her aim was to pull attention away from the protest.

"We wanted to turn something negative around, into something people could laugh at and poke fun at," she said. "It was the easiest way to divert attention from something so hateful."

'Christ' banner headed back to N.J. street

PITMAN, N.J., July 31 (UPI) -- A controversial banner reading "Keep Christ in Christmas" is making its return to a New Jersey road, officials said.

Mark Pawlowski, the grand knight of the Pitman-based Knights of Columbus council Our Lady Queen of Peace 6247, said town officials have told the group they are on track to hang the banner over the intersection of Broadway and Second Avenue, where it has been posted every year for decades, the Gloucester County Times, Woodbury, N.J., reported Tuesday.

"One of the pillars of Knights of Columbus is community. We want them to know we're here and this is what we believe. We want to reach out to the community. It's important to keep Christ at the center of life," Pawlowski said.

Pawlowski said the group has two backup locations on private property in case they run into resistance from officials, but Mayor Russ Johnson said the city has no plans to block the banner.

The Wisconsin-based non-profit Freedom From Religion Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving the separation of church and state, unsuccessfully lobbied officials last year to have the banner moved to a church instead of being posted on public property.