Odd in the News

CHICAGO - Chicago woman accused of punching paramedic - A 40-year-old Chicago woman faces battery and drug possession charges after allegedly punching a paramedic and spitting on a nurse. Full Story Here

Fire Breaks Out Among Christmas Trees at Walmart
Police in Westbury, N.Y. say a fire has broken out among Christmas trees for sale outside a Wal-Mart on New York's Long Island during a busy holiday shopping weekend.
Nassau County Police say in a statement that the blaze was reported around 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Westbury store. There are no immediate reports of injuries.
Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokesman Dan Fogelman says the busy store was evacuated because of the fire in the store's garden shop.
Fogelman says it is unclear how many people were in the store at the time or how much damage was caused. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The store remains closed and will reopen on Sunday.

Children Playing + Charger = FIRE  from Small Bits & Pieces by The Man

Fire that struck two Brockton triple-deckers and left 33 residents homeless was started by children jumping on a bed. Brockton Fire Lieutenant Edward Williams said Friday that the Thursday night fire was ignited when the children bounced up and down on two mattresses that were against a wall where a cell phone charger was plugged. He said the back-and-forth motion of the mattresses abraded a transformer for a cell phone charger which caused sparks or a short circuit. Williams said the fire flared up just after 8 p.m. Thursday, causing $150,000 in damages to one building and $50,000 to a nearby apartment building. Two firefighters suffered puncture wounds and cuts, but neither was hospitalized. No other injuries were reported.

Pet pig farting prompts gas leak fears from Funny & More by The Man

A pig with flatulence triggered a minor emergency near Bendigo this week when smells wafting from the 120kg porker sparked fears of a potentially dangerous gas leak.
Two Country Fire Authority tankers and 15 firefighters turned out in darkness to search the source of the leak at a property at Axedale, east of Bendigo. But the likely culprit was soon sniffed out, the pet sow startled from slumber in the dead of night.
"She got very excited when two trucks and 15 firefighters turned up and she squealed and farted and squealed and farted," said fire chief Peter Harkins.
"I haven't heard too many pigs fart but I would describe it as very full-on."
Mr. Harkins said the family had done the right thing by calling 000 to report a suspected gas leak: "It's all bottled gas up here and a leaking cylinder could pose a major fire risk.