Pa. Man Snoozes Through House Fire

PITTSBURGH — A suburban Pittsburgh man slept soundly as his home caught on fire and partially collapsed.

It wasn't until firefighters did a walk-through of the home more than two hours later that he woke up.

Ross Township Fire Marshal John Reubi said he was "flabbergasted" that anyone survived the blaze. It broke out around 2:40 a.m. Sunday and was reported by a passer-by.

Firefighters were initially unable to search for victims because part of the roof collapsed. After controlling the fire, firefighters walked through and found the man in a bedroom. Reubi said it appeared the man had no idea what was going on.

Officials said the house had several additions, perhaps shielding the man's room from flames. He was treated for smoke inhalation.

Police: Breathalyzer-costumed man cited for DUI

OXFORD, Ohio -An Ohio man dressed as a Breathalyzer test for Halloween found himself blowing into one after police stopped him for allegedly driving the wrong way without headlights on a one-way street. Oxford police said they stopped 20-year-old James P. Miller on Halloween night and found beer in his front seat and in the trunk.

Police said Miller blew 0.158 percent on a Breathalyzer test. The legal limit for driving is a blood-alcohol level of .08.

Miller was cited on charges including operating a vehicle while intoxicated, underage possession of alcohol, having an open container and a fake ID, and a one-way street violation.

Miller had no comment when reached at home Wednesday.

Dad, 83, accused of opening fire on drumming son

SAN ANTONIO -San Antonio police are investigating the wounding of a man after his elderly father allegedly opened fire when the victim refused to stop drumming. Police said the son, in his 50s, suffered a non-life threatening head wound early Friday while at the home the men share. Police said his 83-year-old father was detained on an aggravated assault charge.

Police said the son, who was grazed in the head, ran down the block to call for help.

San Antonio police did not immediately provide further details Friday to The Associated Press.

Woman Finds Cop Passed Out in Her Bed

ARLINGTON, Va. - Arlington police say a U.S. Capitol Police officer was arrested when a woman came home to find the stranger passed out drunk in her bed.

Police said the 34-year-old man was still sleeping when officers arrived at 1 a.m. Sunday. Spokeswoman Crystal Nosal said the officer was charged with unlawful entry.

Police don't know why the officer, who lives in Reston, picked the woman's apartment to sleep, but investigators believe he came in through the front door.

Capitol Police spokeswoman Kimberly Schneider said the officer is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal charges. Schneider said the agency will also conduct an investigation.

Cops: Mass. couple beat man at KFC over slow order

NORWELL, Mass. -Authorities say a couple, upset over the slowness of their Kentucky Fried Chicken order, assaulted a man who asked them to stop yelling profanities for the sake of children in line. The couple was arrested Thursday after witnesses told police the couple beat the man as he was leaving the restaurant.

Police say 31-year-old Jared Garfagna of Marshfield punched the man in the head, and then Garfagna's girlfriend, 24-year-old Sara Mohn, kicked the man. The victim had cuts on his eyelid and wrists.

Mohn has been charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Garfagna has been ordered to appear in court on assault and battery charges. It's unclear whether either has hired an attorney.

Boy Fakes Kidnapping to Hide Bad Grades

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - An 11-year-old boy gets high marks in storytelling after staging a hoax to cover up his bad grades.

Police said the boy faked his kidnapping Friday to avoid bringing home a bad report card, saying that a man with a pistol snatched him after he left Ed White Middle School.

The boy said the man forced him into a "beat-up car" and threatened to kill him.

The student said he escaped by jumping out of the car but wasn't able to grab his bookbag, which contained the report card.

He ran to his grandparents' house and later confessed to lying. His grandfather called police to apologize.

Sgt. Mark Roberts said police were suspicious that the boy was able to "escape" with his band instrument, but not his bookbag.

Roberts said the boy faces no charges at this time.

Man accused of sword attack after finding soda can

BRYAN, Texas -A man who was apparently was upset after finding a soda can in his room allegedly used a sword to cut two of his roommates. Michael Angel Zamago was jailed on Friday on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon related to family violence. Bail was $25,000.

A police report indicates Zamago was upset to find a soda can in his room, thinking someone entered without permission. Zamago allegedly used the sword to poke holes in a closed door to a room where the pair fled.

One roommate has a cut under his right arm pit. The other suffered a cut in the shoulder area.

A jailer who declined to provide his name said there was no record of an attorney for Zamago.

Man Dies Teaching Gun Safety

Learning proper gun safety can be a matter of life and death. That holds true for those who give the lessons, as well as for the students they teach.

On Friday, an Imperial, Mo., man insisted on instructing his girlfriend as to the safe way to handle firearms before the two were to travel to a local shooting range, St. Louis television affiliate KDSK reported. What followed was anything but a textbook gun safety class.

According to KDSK, witnesses said James Looney, 40, arrayed several firearms before his pupil, then demonstrated various safety features by pointing two guns to his own head and pulling the triggers.

When Looney attempted a similar demonstration with a third gun, it went off, fatally wounding him, KDSK said.

Sheriff's deputies believe that alcohol was involved, KDSK reported.

Teacher Accused of Selling Grades

TRENTON, N.J. -- A New Jersey social studies teacher has been charged with accepting cash from students looking to improve their grades.

Thirty-year-old Megan Laboy is accused of collecting more than $1,400 from Colts Neck High School students during the 2008-09 school year.

Police say the Howell resident told students she'd give them extra credit and the money was for charity. But they say she kept the money for herself.

She's charged with third-degree theft by deception. She was released on her own recognizance Monday.

She began working for the district in 2001. But district officials say she's no longer employed.

She's refused to comment to The Associated Press.

Man allegedly calls 911 twice to say he's hungry

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -Authorities said a man was arrested after calling 911 twice for a ride and saying he was hungry. Police reports said Benjamin Dewer, 26, was charged early Wednesday with making false calls to 911. The report said Dewer was apparently drunk when police found him sitting on a sidewalk. He asked police for a ride to a park and told them he was hungry.

When police refused, Dewer walked away and called 911 a second time for a ride.

Dewer was being held behind bars at the Palm Beach County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

Woman allegedly shoves friend from moving car

FAIRBANKS, Alaska -Police arrested a North Pole woman accused of shoving her friend out of a moving vehicle. According to a criminal complaint, 34-year-old Christina Louisa Martin and her friend had been drinking at a bar Tuesday night. When they returned to the car, Martin's dog was gone. The complaint said Martin was so upset at her friend about the missing dog that she shoved her when they started traveling again.

Fairbanks police Lt. Matt Soden said the woman required two stitches to her head, but was otherwise uninjured. He said the car wasn't going fast.

Martin was charged with assault, driving under the influence, refusal to submit to a chemical test and leaving the scene of an accident.

Man Allegedly Stole Date's Car

FERNDALE, Mich. -- Police say a first date went from bad to worse when a Detroit man skipped out on the restaurant bill, then stole his date's car.

Terrance Dejuan McCoy, 23, was ordered Thursday to stand trial in Oakland County Circuit Court on a charge of unlawfully driving away the woman's car, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Police say McCoy had dinner with a 27-year-old woman April 24 at Buffalo Wild Wings in Ferndale, Mich.

The Daily Tribune of Royal Oak reported the woman told police McCoy said he left his wallet in her car and asked for her keys. He then sped away in the 2000 Chevrolet Impala.

Police identified McCoy using a photo he earlier sent to the woman's cell phone, as well as his phone number.

Mom allegedly beats daughter's school bus driver

RICHWOOD, La. -Police booked a woman with beating her daughter's school bus driver. The 29-year-old woman faces charges of battery of a schoolteacher and simple battery of the infirm.

According to an arrest affidavit, a Ouachita Parish School bus driver said the woman showed up at her house Tuesday evening and struck her in the mouth, causing bleeding, because she thought the bus driver was mean to her daughter.

When a 60-year-old woman tried to intervene, the suspect allegedly pushed her down, causing her head to strike against the floor.

Man Says Cat to Blame for Child Porn

JENSEN BEACH, Fla. -- Florida investigators say a man accused of downloading child pornography is blaming his cat.

Keith Griffin of Jensen Beach is charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography after detectives found more than 1,000 images on his home computer.

According to a sheriff's report Friday, Griffin told investigators that his cat jumped on the computer keyboard while he was downloading music. He said he had left the room and found "strange things" on his computer when he returned.

Griffin is being held on $250,000 bond in the Martin County jail. It is unclear if he has an attorney.

Big Buck Bunny

Big Buck Bunny is a computer animated short film created by the Blender Institute using free software. The film tells the story of “a giant rabbit with a heart bigger than himself. When one sunny day three rodents rudely harass him, something snaps… and the rabbit ain’t no bunny anymore! In the typical cartoon tradition he prepares the nasty rodents a comical revenge.” Watch the short embedded after the jump.

Woman, 75, drives 2 miles on bridge the wrong way

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. -Police said a 75-year-old woman drove the wrong way on New York's Tappan Zee Bridge. State police in Tarrytown said the woman entered the highway from the Exit 9 off-ramp Sunday morning and drove north in the southbound lanes of the bridge. She drove about two miles before she was stopped.

She told police she knew she had been driving the wrong way but kept going because she thought there would be a place to make a U-turn.

She was given tickets for improperly entering a highway, driving in the wrong direction and reckless driving.

Eight people died on July 26 when Diane Schuler drove a van carrying her three nieces and her own two children the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway. She crashed head-on into an SUV.

Saudi Family Sues Genie for Harassment

A family in Saudi Arabia has taken a genie to court, alleging theft and harassment, according to local media.

The lawsuit filed in Shariah court accuses the genie of leaving them threatening voicemails, stealing their cell phones and hurling rocks at them when they leave their house at night, said Al-Watan newspaper.

An investigation was under way, local court officials said.

"We have to verify the truthfulness of this case despite the difficulty of doing so," Sheikh Amr Al Salmi, the head of the court, told Al-Watan. "What makes this case and complaint more interesting is that it wasn't filed by just one person. Every member of the family is part of this case."

The family, which has lived in the same house near the holy city of Medina for 15 years, said it became aware of the spirit in the past two years.

"We began hearing strange noises," the head of the family, who requested anonymity, told Al-Watan. "In the beginning, we didn't take it seriously, but after that, stranger things started happening and the children got really scared when the genie began throwing stones."

A local charity has moved the family to a temporary residence while a court investigates, the newspaper said.

In Islamic cultures, a belief in genies, or jinns, is common.

Genies not only appear in pre-Islamic fiction such as "Arabian Nights," but are also mentioned in the Quran.

Many Saudis believe invisible genies live among them and are capable of demonic possession and revenge.

Grandchildren left in car while Fla. woman gambled

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -A Florida woman has been sentenced to 14 months of house arrest for leaving two grandchildren alone in a parked car while she went to play the slots.

A Broward County judge also gave the 54-year-old woman three years' probation Monday.

Authorities say the woman left the children in a car parked outside a Hallandale Beach casino in August 2008. The windows were down, but the air-conditioning was off.

A witness saw the 2-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy in the car and told the casino's security.

The prosecutor tells the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the woman had pleaded guilty to charges including felony child abuse and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Robbery Suspect Returns to Say Sorry

RAHWAY, N.J. - Police in central New Jersey said they arrested a man for burglary after he returned to the victim's house in Rahway to apologize.

Police arrested 35-year-old Craig Fletcher of Elizabeth on Wednesday shortly after the homeowner told them a man had just rung his doorbell, apologized for the break-in and ran off on foot.

The homeowner said he interrupted the June 29 burglary. He chased the burglar, who had stuffed three laptops and an Xbox game console into a backpack. The intruder threw the bag down and got away.

Fletcher was also charged with a second burglary in the same neighborhood.

He was taken to the Union County Jail in lieu of $60,000 bail. Police did not know if he had retained a lawyer.

Prank leads Fla. couple to trash hotel room

ORLANDO, Fla. -Authorities say a prankster persuaded a married couple to smash their Florida hotel window after falsely telling them the room had a gas leak. Police say a person claiming to be a front-desk clerk at an Orlando hotel convinced the couple to break a wall mirror and use a lamp to punch a hole through the wall. The couple also threw a mattress out the window, but a hotel manager came to the room before they could jump.

The manager told the couple there was no gas leak. The manager also said employees had received a memo from the hotel's corporate office warning that dangerous pranks were being pulled at hotels in other states.

The prank cost about $5,000 in damages. Police say the couple were not arrested Monday because they thought it was an emergency. The hotel has not asked them to pay.