Miracle kitten survives wash cycle

A curious kitten had an amazing escape after climbing into a washing machine and going through a full wash cycle.

Seven-month-old Siamese Suki was soaked, washed, rinsed and then spun dry after climbing in with a full load of dirty linen.

The first that owner Liz Fear knew of the cleaning catastrophe was when she reached in to pull out the newly washed clothing and discovered an unexpected fur ball.

Mrs Fear, of Melbourne, Australia, recalls: "I lifted her limp and lifeless body out and she was really cold and colourless and I held her in my arms."

The family - Mrs Fear, husband Tony and children Charlotte, 13, twins Harry and Amelia, 11, and James, 8 - had been watching TV when they noticed that Suki was missing.

"She's more like a dog and always under your feet. The kids had asked where she was," she added.

"But we just thought she was taking time out somewhere and - doing four loads of washing a day - I just closed the machine door after the kids had put their clothes in and didn't think any more about it."

When Suki was discovered after her washing machine ordeal she was rushed to the local vets where she was discovered to be severely ill.

But despite initial grim predictions she has amazingly pulled through and is now expected to make a full recovery.

Transformers still on top after 25 years

Transformers robots are still one of Britain's most popular toys after a quarter of a century despite a dramatic change in children's tastes, say retailers.

The 'Robots in Disguise' are as popular today as they were in 1985, industry figures show, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Experts from Toys R Us have disclosed the best-selling toys of the past 25 years as it celebrates a quarter of a century of trading.

And despite the way children's playtime habits have changed in that time, it seems youngsters still appreciate the wars between the Autobots and the Decepticons.

Experts said the 2007 Hollywood film, starring Megan Fox and Josh Duhamel, helped keep the toys in the bestseller range.

"While technology is now more popular than ever before with children, customers who have been with us for the full 25 years will start to recognise some toys which are making a comeback," said Mike Coogan, the chain's marketing director.

"Back in the eighties all the kids wanted to own the Transformers robots, and while they died out during the nineties they are hugely popular once again due to the 2007 movie which was based on the original series."

Oxford Union in sex shop link up

A row has blown up after the prestigious Oxford Union debating society negotiated a discount with a local sex shop for its members.

Members can receive sex goods up to 10% cheaper at Adult World if they "flash" their membership card, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Officials said the scheme was one of several designed to ensure "best value" for members - but critics claimed it was "offensive" and "undermined" women's rights.

The Union, founded in 1823, is one of the university's most high-profile societies and has produced 12 British prime ministers.

Listed on the Union's website under the title "Treasurer's Treats", members are told they just "flash" their membership card to receive the discount.

"Your Union card just got a whole lot more valuable, with treats now available at 63 different businesses all over town," it read.

But one critic complained: "It's incongruous with the image of the Union, its prestigious history and the list of great and good who have spoken there.

"It is a sign of the times. Even a few years ago this wouldn't have happened, or, if it had, it would have kicked up a storm of debate."

Alistair Walker, a Union spokesman, defended the scheme. He said it was a "long-standing member's discount" deal with the sex shop. He said there were plans to expand the scheme.

"This is just one of the 63 current discounts the Union's current and former committee members have negotiated to ensure best value for its members," he said.

Wind could have parted Red Sea for Moses

Scientists say they have used computer simulations to show how the parting of the Red Sea could have been caused by strong winds.

The Bibles describes how the waters of the sea parted, allowing Moses and the Israelites to flee their Egyptian pursuers.

US scientists say their simulations show how the movement of wind could have opened up a land bridge at one location, reports the BBC.

The researchers say a strong east wind, blowing overnight, could have pushed water back at a bend where an ancient river is believed to have merged with a coastal lagoon.

With the water pushed back into both waterways, a land bridge would have opened at the bend, enabling people to walk across exposed mud flats to safety.

As soon as the wind died down, the waters would have rushed back in.

"The simulations match fairly closely with the account in Exodus," said the study's lead author Carl Drews, from the US National Center for Atmospheric Research.

"The parting of the waters can be understood through fluid dynamics. The wind moves the water in a way that's in accordance with physical laws, creating a safe passage with water on two sides and then abruptly allowing the water to rush back in."

In the Book of Exodus, a mighty east wind blew all night, splitting the waters, after Moses and the fleeing Israelites became trapped between the Pharaoh's advancing chariots and the Red Sea.

The Israelites were able to flee to the other shore. But when the Egyptian Pharaoh's army attempted to pursue them in the morning, the waters rushed back and drowned the soldiers.

Fish with 'human teeth'

An angler had a shock in the US - when a mystery fish bit him back with distinctly human-looking teeth.

Frank Yarborough was fishing in Lake Wylie, South Carolina, when he hooked the fish which was 5lb and nearly 1ft 8ins long.

Assuming it was a catfish, he scooped his hand in the water to pull it out, only to find his fingers clamped between what appeared to be a set of dentures.

Robert Stroud, a freshwater fisheries biologist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, has confirmed that samples from the fish have been sent off to determine the fish's species.

Stroud told WBTV: "This fish is more than likely a common species of Pacu, Colossama macropomum, originating from the Amazon River basin of South America and is quite common in the aquarium trade."

Pacus, a distant relative of the piranha, is a warm water fish, and not native to Lake Wylie. Biologists believe it was probably raised in an exotic fish tank and released when it got too large for the tank.

The fish is currently in a freezer in Mr Yarborough's Clover home, but unsurprisingly he has no plans to cook his catch.

Family's flood of Joy

A newborn foal has become best friends with a family's cats and dogs after being rescued from floods.

Shetland foal Joy was found practically entombed in freezing cold mud in recent flooding in Victoria, Australia.

Rescuers dug her out and rushed her home where, in front of a roaring fire, she started to show signs of life.

Still less than two weeks old, Joy is now being cared for by Quest Equine Welfare president Rebecca Atkins at her home.

Her main playmates are two dogs, both taller and twice as heavy as she is, and she also loves snuggling up to cats Miffy and Willy for a snooze.

Ms Atkins said: "She needs a bottle of mare's milk formula every 40-45 minutes, then a 30-minute nap then play and prance time, and then we go through it all over again.

"It will be worth it if she survives because we can call her our greatest ever little miracle."

She is now virtually recovered from her ordeal, though her right eye is ulcerated as a result of her head being left packed in mud and it is unsure whether this will heal.

Man seeks world rope-sleeping record

A Chinese man who claims he can sleep on a rope tied between two trees is hoping to get into the Guinness Books of Records.

Gao Yang, 37, says it took him nearly a quarter of a century to master the skill but he can now sleep on the rope for seven hours.

Gao, of Anshan, northeastern China's Liaoning Province, says he practices on a 10ft high rope in his local park every morning.

He told NEN News: "I met a master when I was 12, and he taught me some tips. It took me nearly 24 years to acquire the skill.

"It's nearly impossible for ordinary people to do this. It needs the perfect coordination of body muscles and balancing skills.

"I am finally ready to contact Guinness in the coming days and am confident of being able to set a world record."

'The Cezanne of the simians'

A retired circus chimpanzee has become known as the "Cezanne of simians" after drawing crowds to watch him paint.

Jimmy, 26, has been producing paintings each day for three weeks at the Niteroi Zoo in Brazil.

And plans are now afoot for an exhibition of his works, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Roched Seba, the animal's trainer, said Jimmy had shown no interest in the toys and other diversions that chimpanzees typically enjoy.

In an effort to entertain the chimp, Mr Seba brought some paints to the enclosure three weeks ago - and Jimmy took to them straight away.

For at least 30 minutes a day, so long as he is not distracted by too many onlookers, Jimmy dips his brush into plastic paint containers and uses broad, bold strokes to create his art.

The chimp is not the first animal to wield a paintbrush. An African elephant called Brittany decorates canvases sold at the Milwaukee County Zoo's gift shop to raise revenue.

And three abstract paintings by a chimp named Congo in the 1950s sold for about £17,000 at a 2005 auction in London where works by Renoir and Warhol were unsold.

Dad makes Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

 A Hampshire man has spent three months turning a clapped-out 1976 Land Rover into a replica of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Stuart Wallis stripped the 34-year old wreck down to its chassis, engine and wheels before transforming it into his own version of the famous flying car.

Mr Wallis, 52, of Ringwood, took on the project after his eldest daughter, Lily, watched the classic film and challenged him to make a similar one.

After visiting Beaulieu Motor Museum to take photos and measurements of a separate replica, he set to work at his New Forest Metal Works business.

Stuart and a six strong team have worked over the past three months turning the Land Rover he paid £1,000 for into a copy of the world famous car.

Stuart said: "My kids have always enjoyed the film so I thought 'why not?'.

"The children all helped with the building of the car so they were all aware of how it was progressing but now it is finished I don't think they can quite believe it."

The vehicle features a 1,000 watt amplifier under the bonnet and loudspeakers so it can blast out hits from the film, as well as eight sets of air horns to create animal noises and police sirens.

In keeping with the film, it has red and yellow wings attached to the sides - although making the contraption fly for real was a step too far, even for Mr Wallis.

His children, Lily, 10, Tom, nine, and Zoe, seven, and their young neighbours Chloe and Elise Collins now love nothing better than a spin in the truly scrumptious machine.

The art of protest in Russia

 A modern art protest group is attracting attention in Russia - by overturning police cars.

The group - which calls itself Voina - overturned eight patrol cars in one night as a protest against what they say is widespread corruption in police ranks in St Petersburg.

Spokesman Alexei Plutser-Sarno, said on his blog: "The police won't pursue us. We have neither money nor property, so there's nothing to get from us.

"The werewolves in epaulettes don't work for no reason and for free."

Previous exhibitions have included staging an orgy in Moscow's Biological Museum and painting a 200ft high penis on a St. Petersburg drawbridge.

They once released thousands of cockroaches into a court room where two group members were facing trial over one exhibition.

Russian art expert David Riff, said: "The aim of art is to provoke and oppose, and Voina is the only group now which still performs these kinds of things."

High heels 'wasted on men'

Women who sacrifice comfort to wear high heels may be wasting their time because men don't even notice, according to a new study.

Experts at Northumbria University are studying the reactions of men to women walking with and without wearing high heels.

They say their research shows that men cannot even tell if a woman is wearing high heels when they walk, reports the Daily Telegraph.

It is part of a wider research project into attraction which examines the signals sent out by movement like walking and dancing.

The study, led by evolutionary psychologist Dr Nick Neave and researcher Kristofor McCarty, looked at women between 18 and 35 and what signals are sent out when the they walk with and without heels.

De Neave said: "Women are spending money on high heels, which can be dangerous, presumably to make themselves look good and add to what nature has given them."

The study is investigating if the change in body posture brought about by wearing heels, such as the illusion of longer legs, tilting torso and more prominent rear, sends a signal which has an impact on men.

Dr Neave said: "Everybody is attracted to somebody else and making relationships is very important to humans.

"Making key relationships and having children are some of the most important decisions people will make. But scientifically we know very little about this."

The study is also using 3D motion-capture technology to identify the movement areas of a male dancer's body that influence female perceptions of whether their dance skills are good or bad.

The Man Who Carved his Wife a 6,000 Stair Path in a Mountain

Over 50 years ago, Liu, was a 19 years-old boy, fell in love with a 29 year-old widowed mother named Xu. At the time, it was unacceptable and immoral for a young man to love an older woman. To avoid the market gossips, the couple decided to elope and lived in a cave in Jiangjin County in Southern ChongQing area.

In the beginning, they had nothing, no electricity or even food. They had to eat grass and roots they found in the mountain, and Liu made a kerosene lamp that they used to lighten up their lives. Starting the second year of living in the mountain, Liu began, and continue for over 50 years, to hand carve the steps so that his wife could get down the mountain easily.

A half century later in 2001, a group of adventures were exploring the forest, they surprisingly found the elderly couple and the over 6,000 stairs of hand carved ladder. “My parents loved each other so much, they have lived in seclusion for over 50 years and never been apart a single day.” Liu MingSheng, one of their seven children said, “He hand carved more than 6,000 steps over the years for my mother's convenience, although she doesn't go downthe mountain that much.”

In 2006, Liu, now 72 years-old, returned from his daily farm work and collapsed. Xu sat and prayed with her husband as he passed away in her arms. That's when their story became one of the top 10 love stories from China, as collected by the Chinese Women Weekly, so the local government has decided to preserve the "Love ladder" and the place they lived as a museum, so this love story can live forever.

Darryl Belk: the man who tried to pay FBI agent $8,000 to whack his girlfriend

Darryl Belk and his girlfriend had a tendency to fight. A lot. It came to a point when she hit him with a hammer -- or so he says. But by the time police arrived, he claims she also hit herself with the hammer. That left police to light him up on domestic charges. Belk wanted to make the charges go away. So he called a friend in California to ask for a reference on a responsible hit man. The California guy apparently thought this was something to avoid, so he called the cops, and the cops brought in the FBI. Belk traveled from his home in Vancouver, Washington to meet the supposed hit man at a hotel near the Portland airport. At first he wanted the fake bad guy to plant a gun and some heroin in her so she'd be discredited into dropping the domestic case against him. But he later changed his mind. "I hate this person," he told the agent. "I wish they were dead. ... Go for the gusto, the fullservice delivery. I want her out. I want her gone." He agreed to pay the hitter $8,000 for whacking his girlfriend, as long as he did it in April while he'd be on a trip to Disneyland, providing him with an alibi. Unfortunately for Belk, undercover cops posing as hit men rarely end up killing their victims. Instead, Belk was arrested and indicted on eight counts over his sordid proposition

Graydon Smith: the man who made his pregnant girlfriend sign a contract allowing him to pound her

Graydon Smith's career in contract law is off to an unpromising start. Police were called to the Haller Lake home of the 31-year-old's parents. There, Smith's pregnant 19-year-old girlfriend told them that her boyfriend had threatened to kill her. She took these threats seriously because Smith had beat her up in past. He'd also asked her to sign an "abuse contract:" a letter that stated he was free to pound on her as much as he wanted for perpetuity, so long as he avoided her pregnant belly. When cops contacted Smith by phone he denied the abuse. But strangely, he admitted to the part about the contract. Which in a way is an admission. Or at least an admission of profound stupidity. For some reason, it took cops another month and another incident to arrest Smith. This time, it was his stepfather who called 911. The dad had confronted Smith after he watched him choke his girlfriend for 10 seconds. Unhappy with the interruption, Smith tried to land a shot on pop's face but only ended up with a glancing blow.
When cops arrived they found the girlfriend bleeding from the face with a contusion on the back of her head. Smith was arrested and charged with second-degree assault, two counts of fourth-degree assault and two counts of felony harassment.

leaving signs on a busy road

Being dumped isn't fun at the best of times, but imagine one Australian woman's surprise when her boyfriend publicly finished with her by leaving signs on a busy road.The woman , named Jennifer, has become the talk of New South Wales after she was dumped in what could be one of the most embarrassing public break-ups of all time. The mystery woman's supposed lover erected five separate signs overnight on the area's busiest road. His feelings started out as romantic, with ‘Jennifer, will you marry me?' But the proposal was quickly followed by two very different signs: ‘Just kidding' and ‘I'm breaking up with you'. The final rather blunt sign simply read: You have six days to move out.

NOTE: later on, two boys admitted it was only a joke.

the boyfriend who murdered girlfriend for refusing to help him bury previous girlfriend

An American man described by a judge as "a savage beast" and "the face of evil" was convicted of murder after killing his girlfriend when she wouldn't assist him in disposing of the body of his previous girlfriend, who he had also murdered. 28-year-old Santiago Martinez was sentenced to die by lethal injection after jurors took only 30 minutes to decide his fate. The first murder victim, Christina Wilkerson, 28, of Long Beach, was stabbed 20 times in the face, neck and body, and then shot point blank with a .22 rifle. Myra Orozco, 24, the second victim, was stabbed and slashed close to 30 times in the face, neck and body before Martinez pushed the mortally wounded woman from the car they were sitting in, then ran over her. Both murders happened within a month.

the HIV+ man who faked HIV test to get his girlfriend into bed

 A Queens man passed off a fake HIV test on his girlfriend to deceive her into having unprotected sex with him -- though he was actually HIV positive. The unnamed woman wouldn't go bareback with Duane Lang, 47, until he submitted proof of his status, so he fabricated a document from the AIDS Center of Queens County in Rego Park saying he had tested negative in a rapid HIV test. (The AIDS Center's medical director confirms that the document is a fake -- his name is even misspelled on it.) In Marchthe woman got suspicious and he admitted not only that the test was fake, but that he'd been positive for years. The HIV status of the woman , who had unprotected sex with Lang several times, is unknown. Lang was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and forgery. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

boyfriend who beat up his armless, legless girlfriend in "self-defense"

There are very few things on this planet that earn you a one-way ticket to hell. Beating up a quadriplegic girl because she's blocking the television is probably one of them. Jacoby Smith, who sounds like a real sweetheart, thought the appropriate way to teach his girlfriend, Tiesha Bell , not to roll her wheelchair in front of the TV set would be physical confrontation. He hit her in the face 10 times in order to get his point across. Smith doesn't deny the attack, but is quick to note that he did it in self-defense. Bell had both hands and both legs amputated due to a childhood illness. He also claims that she had been cheating on him prior to the fight and that the amputee also threw her bed pan filled with urine at him during the altercation. Is there really anything else to add at this point? Actually, there is. Bell still plans to marry him. "We both need anger management," she said.

the boyfriend who robbed his pregnant girlfriend for beer money

Vinson's girlfriend thought she was ready to deliver their child and told him she needed to go to the hospital. Instead of taking her to the hospital, he punched her in the head twice, waved a knife in her face, threatened to kill her, robbed her for beer money and hung up the phone when she was trying to dial 911. What a gentleman.The woman eventually got help and made it to the hospital, where she was treated for the injuries Vinson caused. As far as we know, it was a false alarm and the baby still hasn't been born yet but we hope she has a happy Mother's Day, just the same

the man who sent sex pictures of ex-girlfriend to her family as Christmas cards

David Simmons, 57, from Murfreesboro, took photographs of his ex-girlfriend, without her knowledge, that showed her performing sexual acts on him. After a nasty break-up, Simmons sent the picture tothe woman's relatives as Christmas cards. Some family members opened the cards, while others were intercepted by the woman before they were opened. He was arrested in connection with eight counts of unlawful photography against his ex-girlfriend, criminal impersonation and vandalism. He was sentenced to two years of probation after he pleaded guilty to distributing sexually explicit Christmas cards of his ex-girlfriend. What a lovely memory of Christmas her family will have

ex boyfriend who used Craigslist to arrange woman's rape

 A Wyoming man was accused of posing online as his former girlfriend and soliciting someone to act out a violent sexual fantasy. The advertisement appeared on Craigslist in December 2009. "Need a real aggressive man with no concern for women," read the posting on the Internet classified advertising forum. Its purported author was a Casper, Wyo., woman, whose photo also was posted. One week later, a man accepted the offer, forcing his way into the woman's home, tying her up and raping her at knifepoint. "I'll show you aggressive," he allegedly said, according to court testimony. In fact,the woman had nothing to do with the ad. Instead, a former boyfriend had posted it, soliciting her assault.

Actually, Jebidiah James Stipe, 27, posed as his ex-girlfriend and placed the ad seeking an aggressive man. Two days later, she spotted it and contacted the Natrona County Sheriff's Office, as well as Craigslist, which took down the ad. But Ty Oliver McDowell, 26, had allegedly already seen it. He e-mailed the address listed in the ad and told authorities that he andthe woman exchanged instant messages, and she described what she wanted -- "humiliation, physical abuse, sexual abuse," -- and gave him her home address. Only he was in fact communicating with Stipe. According to McDowell he thought he was fulfilling her rape fantasy. He was arrested and charged with first-degree sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated burglary. Stipe was also arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree sexual assault.

Naked burglars left sex tape clue

Police had an easy job identifying a naked couple who broke into a house and filmed themselves having sex - because they left the camera behind.

The man and woman were caught having sex on camera at a home in Elma, Washington state, when someone arrived to collect the mail while the homeowner was away.
The naked couple fled, but left behind their camera - which enabled Gray Harbor police to identify the two suspects, reports the Seattle Daily Weekly.
"We're not sure what the motivation for the break-in was but it's a fair bet to say narcotics may have been involved," an officer told the Seattle Daily Weekly.
The 39-year-old woman was arrested later that evening. A warrant has also been issued for the 31-year-old man.
And both may face more charges, since the camcorder that was their undoing was also found to be stolen during a separate break-in.

Driver's 30 hour sit-in beats clampers

A London motorist refused to leave his car for 30 hours after wheel campers tried to fine him thousands of pounds.

Haroon Zafaryab, 27, admits he failed to spot a tiny "private property" notice but blasted "bullying clampers" who targeted his Toyota Prius.
And he claimed victory in his marathon battle after the clampers finally agreed to accept £100 to release his car, reports The Sun.
Mr Zafaryab emerged from his local mosque in Wembley, North London, to find it clamped - and a official demanding £100 plus £265 for a tow truck that had been called to haul the car away.
He refused to pay for the tow truck and got in the driver's seat, knowing the car couldn't be moved with him still in it.
Residents in local flats kept him supplied with refreshments as his protest dragged on all afternoon, into the night and continued next day.
During the stand-off, three more clamps were fixed so all his wheels were locked and 40 more tickets - totalling £3,865 - were plastered over his windscreen and rear window.
Clamping firm Citywatch repeatedly sent tow trucks as police kept an eye on the protest but, after 30 hours, the firm had finally had enough.
Their victim, whose wife proudly took his baby son to see his protest, offered to stump up the original £100 - and one of the enforcement team accepted.
Mr Zafaryab, of Kingsbury, said: "A crowd of about 50 clapped and cheered as they took the clamps off. Everyone was shaking my hand. The little man won against the big bad clampers."
Citywatch, based in Enfield, North London, refused to comment.

Cow's underground adventure

A Chinese farmer spent four days searching for his missing cow - only to discover she'd somehow made her way into the sewers under his village.

Locals in Fujian province, eastern China, had been mystified by the sound of mooing coming up from the ground.
But they didn't realise what had happened until the beast popped her head through an open manhole.
Animal lovers kept her busy with handfuls of grass until owner Sheng Hsueh could set up a makeshift winch to haul her back to the surface.
"She didn't seem upset by her ordeal." said local Wang Hsia, 48, "As soon as they cut her free she found a patch of grass and started grazing."

Boy, 13, hit by lightning on Friday the 13th

A 13-year-old boy was struck by lightning at exactly 13:13 on Friday the 13th.

The boy was seen by the St John Ambulance team at Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival in Suffolk, reports the Daily Telegraph.
He suffered a minor burn and was taken to James Paget Hospital, where he is expected to make a full recovery.
Jason Gillingham, county ambulance officer and on scene at the show, said: "This was a very minor burn to the boy's shoulder, but he was conveyed to hospital and is recovering well."
A second teenager and a woman were also struck by lightning but did not need hospital treatment.
The three were watching a display of the Red Arrows during a downpour when the lightning struck.

All's well that ends well

A grandmother had a lucky escape in China after she fell down a 30ft well while looking for vegetables.

Yuhua Qing, 68, was gathering wild vegetables in a remote area near her home in Luoyang, Henan province, when she fell down the well.
Fortunately she was with her husband who heard her cries for help and called the emergency services, reports the China News Network.
But firefighters could not get their vehicle near the well and had to carry rescue equipment on foot - and the woman was down the well for five hours before she could be freed.
Eventually she was hauled to the surface and the woman's fears that she had broken her leg falling down the dry well proved unfounded.
Qing told rescuers that she had been looking for her husband when she stumbled into the narrow well opening which was overgrown with bushes.
"It's just a pity that they couldn't rescue my vegetables as well," she said.

Man 'marinaded live cat'

Police in the US were shocked when they pulled over a motorist - and found a live cat 'marinating' in oil and peppers in his boot.

Officers in Buffalo, New York state, heard the cat meowing when they stopped Gary Korkuc, 51, for running a stop sign.
They checked the boot and found four-year-old Navarro in a cage, his fur covered with oil, salt, crushed red peppers and chili peppers, reports the Buffalo News.
Mr Korkuc allegedly told police he was planning to cook Navarro because he was "ill-tempered". He also told officers the neutered male cat was 'pregnant'.
Navarro has been taken in by local animal rescue workers who have cleaned him up and plan to put him up for adoption. Mr Korkuc has been charged with animal cruelty.
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals spokeswoman Gina Browning said: "It's disgusting. It surprises me every day what people are capable of when it comes to violence, whether it is animals or people. I've never heard of anything like this before."
But she had nothing but praise for the police - and Navarro: "We can learn lessons in resiliency. He is purring away and getting ready for his next checkup. Thank God that police heard him. Thank God those cops took the initiative."

Angry air steward storms down slide

A flight attendant has been arrested after swearing at a passenger before storming off a plane via the emergency inflatable slide.

Steven Slater, 38, argued with a passenger who was attempting to retrieve hand luggage from an overhead locker while the Pittsburgh to New York plane was still moving on the runway.
When the passenger abused Mr Slater, the flight attendant appears to have lost his temper and dramatically resigned.

He grabbed the intercom and said: "To the passenger who called be a mother ****er, **** you. I've been in the business 28 years. I've had it. That's it."
Mr Slater then activated the emergency exit, grabbed two beers from the galley, and then slid down the inflatable slide on to the tarmac, reports the Wall Street Journal.
He boarded a train to the terminal, stripping off his tie and discarding it to the astonishment of bemused onlookers.
He then drove to his nearby home in Queens, New York, where he was later arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.
Mr Slater is a long-standing flight attendant who worked for budget airline Jet Blue.
His arrest appears to have triggered an online movement, with others who work in jobs which bring them in to contact with rude customers demanding his release.
        

Hairy girl's science ambition

A five-year-old cruelly nicknamed Monkey Girl wants to become a scientist to find out why she is covered in thick black hair.

Cian Cian lives with her grandparents who regularly shave her face and body to remove her unwanted hair.
Doctors at Tongliang People's Hospital, where Cian Cian was recently treated after suffering an epileptic fit, are mystified by her condition.
Doctor Chu Hongbo said: "There is nothing like this in her family going back three generations so it doesn't appear to be genetic."
Her grandparents say they no longer take Cian Cian into the city because people stare and ask why she's "so hairy".
"Even at kindergarten each morning, people look at her and ask me why she is so hairy. Questions like that make me feel very bad," said the grandma.
The little girl, whose parents are divorced, says classmates at kindergarten in her village near Chonqing tease her.
But she is happy at home, telling the Chongqing Evening Post: "I love my grandparents, especially my grandma, they are good to me.
"I want to be a scentist when I grow up so I can find out what's wrong with me."

Overweight air stewards grounded

Turkish Airlines has grounded 28 flight attendants for being overweight and given them six months to slim.

The employees, 13 of whom are women, are on unpaid leave in Turkey until they lose weight, the Haber Turk daily newspaper said.
All of them previously had been warned to shape up, it added.
"Weight and height are important factors at all airlines. These criteria are important both in terms of appearance and the ability to move about," Turkish Airlines reportedly said in a statement to its crew.
Izzet Levi, head of a cabin attendants' association, told Haber Turk he had been told he must lose 22lbs if he is to return to his post.
Turkish Airlines is Europe's fourth largest carrier by passenger numbers.

New chef has stomach for the job

A Chinese restaurant recruited a new chef by inviting applicants to slice a melon on a woman's stomach.

The hotel restaurant, in Hankou, Hubei province, put the knife skills of more than 15 candidates to the test.
A woman volunteer laid on a table, with her stomach covered with a thin sheet of plastic, while would-be chefs chopped up their melons.
"They had to chop the gourd into very thin pieces in a limited time," said a spokesman for the hotel.
The successful candidate, Chef Hu Gua, won the job by choping up his melon in less than a minute without hurting the woman.
Chef Hu told the Changjiang Business Daily that he had been very confident before the recruitment test.
But he added: "I still felt a bit nervous when it came to is as it was the first time I ever chopped up something on a woman's belly."
One of the judges commented: "Hu did such a god job - you could tell he had been in the trade for more than 10 years."

Aquarium boobs over buxom mermaid

Aquarium bosses have put a bikini on an underwater statue of a mermaid - because her boobs were attracting too much attention.

Staff at Sea Life Chessington said they noticed many young male visitors to their underwater tunnel were not giving the marine life their full attention.
So in a bid to save the mermaid's modesty and get visitors concentrating on the fish again, a diver was dispatched to cover the statue's breasts with a bikini.
Manager Justine Locker said: "It's a bit of a boob on our part. We hadn't noticed quite how buxom Sally was until we clocked young boys, and not so young boys, spending a lot of time ogling her in the walkthrough ocean tunnel.
"Since then, none of us can avoid what is starring us straight in the face, so it's time for a cover-up."
        

Naked rollercoaster record bid

More than 100 naked thrill-seekers stripped off to ride into the record books - on a rollercoaster.

A total of 102 enthusiasts bared all to take their seats on the Green Scream rollercoaster at Southend-on-Sea, Essex.
Organisers were aiming to beat a record set at Alton Towers in 2004 when 32 people rode a rollercoaster naked.
The latest record bid took place at Southend pleasure park, Adventure Island, to raise money for Southend Hospital's Bosom Pals Appeal.
Organiser Tracy Jones said: "We wanted to raise as much money as possible for this brilliant charity and give everybody who was brave enough, the chance to be part of the world record. Consequently, we had to run the Naked Rollercoaster three times."
Barbara Warner, of the Bosom Pals Appeal, said: "It takes of lot of nerve to take off all your clothes' in front of so many people and the world's media.
"We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who was brave enough to bare all and raise such a huge amount of cash - more than £22,000 - for our vitally important cause."

School bus crashed after driver fell out

A US school bus company is being sued after a driver allegedly fell out of a moving bus when he leant out to vomit.

The driver-less bus full of schoolchildren ended up crashing into a nearby ditch, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
A mother, who claims her child was hurt in the incident in Kankakee County, Illinois, is suing the bus company for £30,000.
Akilah Giddings, mother of Jacqual Calbert, claims the driver opened the door of the bus "in an attempt to lean over so he could barf".
The driver fell out onto the road while the bus full of schoolchildren continued moving and crashed into a ditch, her lawsuit claims.
Court papers do not specify the nature of the child's injury or say if anyone else was injured in the crash.
The lawsuit against Illinois Central School Bus, one of the biggest school bus companies in the US, was filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
Company spokeswoman Diana Hallam declined to comment on the lawsuit but said safety was "a top priority".
        

Chinese chicken thinks he's a penguin

Meet Mumble - the confused Chinese chicken who thinks he's a penguin.

Instead of scratching in the ground and roosting on a perch at night, Mumble walks around waddling from side to side.
Farmer Lu Xi got the bird as a chick, reports CEN. "He only has little wings, just like a penguin, which he sticks out when he walks. I guess that's why he never flies," he said.
Local media at Jiangsu nicknamed the chicken Mumble after the character in the film Happy Feet, about a penguin who can't sing so dances instead.
Lu added: "I had not seen the film but I like the name, although my bird can't dance - and I don't think he can swim either.
"But he should be happy - my family all like him and so we decided to keep him instead of putting him in the pot."

Penis stolen from fashion guru's grave

The penis has been snapped off the statue of an angel at a top fashion designer's family grave plot.

Visitors to the Bornstedt cemetery in Germany have been annoyed by Wolfgang Joop's stone angel with a protruding manhood since its erection in 2008.
Despite the desecration, Joop says he has no plans to fix the statue at his family's plot, though he has filed a complaint with police who are now hunting the vandal.

Joop said: "This is a desecration of a cemetery, snapping off an angel's stone penis is just not done."

CEN reports he had the mournful winged angel moved from his garden to the cemetery after the death of his father. Many visitors objected and even his mother, who died in May this year, wasn't happy about the artwork.
"My mother suggested I file the penis down a bit," Joop said just days before the theft. "But I didn't do that and for a time ladies would walk past and place a seasonal flower on the penis to cover it up."

The director of the cemetery, Jutta Erb-Rogg, said: "It's unbelievable and terribly sad. The angel was art - not pornography."

Bound woman used toes to email for help

A US woman who was tied to her bed during a midnight robbery was freed after she used her toes to email her boyfriend.

Amy Windom, 39, was held up at gunpoint in her home in Atlanta, Georgia, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The masked robber hit her over the had with his gun and then tied her to the bed while he searched the house for valuables.
After he left, she eventually managed to use her toes to email boyfriend John Hilton, from a laptop which was by her bed, who called police.
Atlanta police Captain Van Hobbs told the newspaper that when officers arrived, they found the victim still tied to her bed.
"Her laptop was on her bed with her and she was able to use her toes to type a message to her boyfriend and let him know what had happened," he said.
Mr Hilton said: "I e-mail her every morning before I go to work. I saw her on AIM, and she 'pinged' me first and her first word was, 'HELP. CALL 911'. It was all caps."
Ms Windom said that she started yelling for help and struggling to free herself as soon as the gunman left but the binds around her wrist just got tighter.
Eventually she realised her laptop was by the foot of her bed and she managed to drag it on to the bed with her feet and open it.
"The wifi popped right up and it was a wonderful moment when I had the screen and realised my internet connection was live," she said.

Mini Monet takes art world by storm

A seven-year-old 'mini Monet' has taken the art world by storm - selling his latest collection of paintings for £150,000 in just 30 minutes.

The sale of schoolboy Kieron Williamson's work attracted buyers and bids from all over the world, including New York and South Africa.
Some fans even went to the extreme of camping outside the gallery in the art prodigy's home town of Holt, Norfolk, where his work was to be exhibited.
The paintings in Kieron's latest collection, which is his third, featured mostly local Norfolk landscapes and coastal scenes.
Kieron said: "I like landscapes as they've got the big Norfolk skies in them and not too many hills or mountains."
One of the biggest sellers at the sale was a 20in by 30in oil painting called 'Sunrise at Morston', which went for £7,995.
Kieron paints up to six paintings a week and there currently around 700 people on a waiting list for an original.
The youngster first started painting two years ago after he was inspired by boats in dock during a family holiday to Cornwall.
Gallery owner Adrian Hill said: "Kieron has probably become one of the most collectable artists worldwide."
Kieron's parents plan to buy him a house with his earnings and invest the rest for him until he is 25.
        

Base jumper's brush with death

A thrill-seeking base jumper had an amazing escape after he was left hanging hundreds of feet over a Swiss mountain when his parachute failed to open.

Extreme sports fan Anton Bader, 26, smashed into the side of the peak heading for certain death as his chute dangled helplessly behind him.
But by an astonishing stroke of luck the parachute was snagged on a rocky outcrop and left terrified Bader swinging over the sheer drop and certain death hundreds of feet below.
Climbing expert Patrick Torent, who took part in the rescue on La Cascade de Fionnay mountain, near Sitten, said: "He had unbelievable luck.
"He smashed against the side of the mountain but then just remained hanging instead of plunging to the ground.
"It was impossible to reach him with a helicopter because of the angle and it took five hours to bring him down to safety," he added.
Officials first had to dam up a waterfall so they could reach the stricken jumper by rope and harness nearly 1,000ft down from the peak.
"All the time his life was literally hanging in the balance. He had been warned not to move at all even to try and hold on to the rock because it could knock the parachute free," said rescue worker Torent.

Death won't end pensioner's protest

A pensioner who has waged a protest against traffic in his village has re-written his will to go on campaigning after his death.

Tony Fuller, 77, has put a condition in his will to states his funeral cortege must crawl up and down Chideock, Dorset, once for every year of his life.
He also wants grieving family and friends to wave protest banners while walking behind the horse and cart carrying his coffin, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Mr Fuller hopes that the result will be to bring traffic to a standstill once more, enabling him to carry on his protest even after his death.
The great-grandfather has led villagers in their fight to divert lorries away from Chideock by repeatedly pressing a button at a pelican crossing to halt traffic on the busy A35.
Mr Fuller, who is suffering from diabetes and prostate cancer, said: "The pollution from the traffic is so bad it will kill me before my illness does.
"If this protest isn't over by the time I die I have put a codicil in my will that will ensure I carry on the fight from beyond my grave.
"I want it a condition that my coffin is put on a horse and cart and taken back and forth through the centre of Chideock for every year of my life.
"I am hoping it will take a very long time and that it will hold up the traffic up. If that happens I hope people will take along their banners to my funeral.
"I have spoken to my family and the campaign group about it and they fully support me, they think it is a wonderful idea."

Student stunned to be Kanye's only friend

A Coventry student has found himself thrust into the limelight - after Kanye West made him his one and only friend on Twitter.

Steve Holmes is baffled as to why the rap superstar decided to follow his tweets on the social networking site, reports The Sun.
The rapper has acquired more than 400,000 followers himself after less than a week on Twitter but is following only one of them.
The bemused student replied to the rapper the moment he became the 'Chosen One' by tweeting: "Holy s**t bro, thx for following!"
To which West replied: "You are the chosen one dun dun dun dun."
Mr Holmes is now under the spotlight from thousands of Twitter followers, some of whom have been angered by Kanye's decision to follow Steve instead of them.
He tweeted: "I feel pressure to say amusing and witty tweets now that @kanyewest is following."
However West threw his support behind Mr Holmes, telling him: "Tweet strong young man tweet strong!!!"
But his most recent tweets suggest he is starting to feel the pressure of his unexpected attention.
"I won't be speaking to anybody else, surprisingly not everyone wants to be famous. That's all I'm saying - peace out x," he wrote.

Girl, 12, kicks burglar where it hurts

A 12-year-old girl sent a burglar packing - by kicking him right between the legs.

Georgia Bulis-Gray found the intruder in her kitchen after hearing a door slam while home alone.
She told The Sun: "He smiled at me and I thought, 'I do not want him thinking I am just a helpless little girl'.
"I kicked him very hard. He groaned and then ran out of the side gate. I ran to the front door to make sure he did not run into anyone else's house."
Georgia called police and drew a sketch of the man. She said: "It's not very good but I knew I had to draw something while his face was still fresh in my mind."
Mum Joanna, 48, only found out what happened when she returned home to Bosham, West Sussex.
She said: "Georgia was calmly making supper and said, 'Mum, something a bit odd has happened.'
"I dread to think what could have happened. But I am very proud of her."

Robber rang to complain about haul

A US man who robbed a fast food restaurant was so upset with his haul that he twice called the restaurant to complain.

The man robbed a Wendy's burger restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, at gunpoint, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Police say he later phoned the restaurant twice to complain about the amount of cash which had been in the till.
"Next time there better be more than $586," he said during one call. He made "a similar threat" in the second call, police said.
The man had walked up to the restaurant's drive through window wearing a ski mask and brandishing a gun. He told an employee to put the cash drawer on the counter.
After grabbing the drawer and running away, the robber discarded the drawer in nearby bushes. He is still at large.

Woman kills four million mozzies

A Taiwanese woman has set a world record for killing mosquitos after swatting four million in just one month.

Huang Yuyen, from Yunlin county, beat 72 rivals to the £1,900 top prize in a contest organised by insect trap-making company, Imbictus International.
Her catch weighed in at more than 1.5kg (3lbs 5oz) - more than double that of her nearest rival, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The company has sent an application to Guinness World Records asking that Miss Huang be recognised as the world's leading killer of the pest.
Mosquitoes were a major public health hazard in Taiwan as carriers of malaria until its official eradication on the island in 1965 - and are still responsible for the spread of dengue fever.

Dog is 'have-a-toe' hero

A US man has told how his dog saved his life - by biting off his infected toe after he passed out drunk.

Jerry Douthett, 48, says Jack Russell terrier Kiko must have sensed the deadly infection festering in his right foot.
Kiko bit off the musician's big toe after he passed out drunk at his home in Rockford, Michigan, reports The Sun.
His wife, Rosee, a nurse, said: "Jerry had had all these margaritas, so I just let him sleep.
"But then I heard these screams coming from the bedroom, and he was yelling, 'My toe's gone, my toe's gone!'"
Mr Douthett added: "He ate it. I mean, he must have eaten it, because we couldn't find it anywhere else in the house. I look down, there's blood all over, and my toe is gone."
When he visited a local hospital it was revealed that he was suffering from undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes.
Tests in hospital revealed a deep infection down to his bone and doctors were forced to amputate what was left of the toe.
"If it hadn't been for that dog, I could have ended up dead," said Mr Douthett.
He admitted he had been hiding his infected foot from people, including his wife.
"It smelled, and I look back now and realise every time we'd visit someone with a dog, their dog would be sniffing all over my foot," he said.

Road kill used to make sporrans

A Scottish taxidermist is using animals knocked down and killed on roads to make sporrans.

Kate Macpherson, of Beauly, Inverness-shire, has collected badgers, foxes, deer and stoats from verges.
But she has been criticised by animal welfare campaigners who say she is encouraging the use of animals for clothing.
Mrs Macpherson said she was inspired by the the badger skin sporran worn by her father's Army regiment.
"If I didn't pick up these animals they would be rotting in a ditch," she said.
"I'm creating something useful from them rather than allowing their beauty to be wasted."
The mother-of-three's friends and neighbours tip her off on the location of road kills.
Mrs Macpherson, who trained in taxidermy when she was 22, has licences to handle protected animals, but has faced complaints from animal welfare groups.
Lynda Korimboccus, head of the Scottish Animal Rights Alliance, said the use of the animals - even if they were killed on a road - was wrong.
She added: "Using a dead animal for clothing perpetuates the idea that that's what animals are for."