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UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

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House with no mortgage foreclosed

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A Florida man who paid cash for his home in December said Bank of America foreclosed on his house despite the fact that he never took out a mortgage.

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Jason Grodensky of Fort Lauderdale said he was shocked to learn in July that the title to his house had been turned over to a government-backed lender, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Thursday.

"I feel like I'm hanging in the wind and I'm scared to death," Grodensky said. "How did some attorney put through a foreclosure illegally?"

Jumana Bauwens, a spokeswoman for Bank of America, said the bank has been made aware of the error and will foot the bill to correct the mistake.

St. Petersburg foreclosure defense attorney Matt Weidner said foreclosure mistakes "happen all the time" in Florida courts.

"It's just not getting reported," he said.

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Man arrested for shaking parrot

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Police in Michigan said charges are pending against a man who was allegedly spotted violently shaking his pet parrot in public.

Ann Arbor police spokeswoman Lt. Renee Bush said officers received three 911 calls from witnesses at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday about a man attacking an unknown animal near the intersection of Pauline Boulevard and South Seventh Street, AnnArbor.com reported Thursday.

Bush said officers located the 49-year-old man and spotted him shaking the parrot while it was "squawking loudly" with its feathers "flying all over."

The spokeswoman said the man told officers he was "disciplining and training" the bird, which was turned over to an animal rescue volunteer.

The man was taken to Washtenaw County Jail with charges pending, Bush said.


Laws block microchipped dog's return

HUDDERSFIELD, England, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A British man whose microchipped dog was stolen three years ago said the microchip provider is refusing to pass on the canine's new address.

Dave Moorhouse, 56, of Huddersfield, England, said his Jack Russell terrier, Rocky, was stolen in January 2007 and the microchip provider, Anibase, refused to pass on the pet's new address, claiming it would violate the Data Protection Act, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.

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Moorhouse said Anibase contacted him in April after the new owners apparently tried to add their information to the microchip.

Moorhouse said he contacted police but was told the information could not be passed on because they could find no criminal action to prosecute and a Huddersfield County Court judge ruled the matter was out of his jurisdiction.

"What's the point of having your pet microchipped if you can't get him back?" Moorhouse said.

Steven Wildridge, managing director of Animalcare, which operates Anibase, said keeping the information private is "an obligation under the Data Protection Act. If the individuals involved do not want us to pass on their details to the original owner then we cannot do so unless compelled to following a criminal or civil proceeding."


Tokyo bar modeled after school

TOKYO, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A Tokyo bar with booths modeled after school classrooms said its sixth-grade theme has proven popular with customers.

A spokesman for the Private-Booth Bar: Sixth Grade, Fourth Class in the Shibuya Branch School said the establishment contains 13 booths referred to as "classrooms" and many customers attend in school uniform-like costumes, Kyodo News reported Thursday.

"A school is a place where everybody has once been. I guess they feel like going back there," the spokesman said.

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The menu includes school lunch favorites including fried bread and a cocktail guests can mix from test tubes.

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