STRANGE BUT TRUE

Nepalese man, 72, claims to be world's shortest

KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — He has never worked outside the home or seen a doctor, and until Wednesday, he had never left his remote mountain village in western Nepal. So 72-year-old Chandra Bahadur Dangi only recently learned he might be the world's shortest man. ...Read More

White House typo has Biden headed to 'Road Island'

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The vice president is hitting the road — to what the White House wrote as "Road Island," mistakenly spelled R-O-A-D instead of R-H-O-D-E. ...Read More

Pa. man busted on drug warrant after casino win

ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) — A man accused of dealing drugs had his luck run out when he won $2,500 playing blackjack at a casino near Philadelphia. ...Read More

Chicago to design vehicle sticker itself

CHICAGO (AP) — After a week of controversy, Chicago officials have decided to design the 2012-13 vehicle registration sticker themselves. ...Read More

His Airness' hand gives cops clue about fake shoes

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Police say one of the first clues the Nike shoes might be fake was the logo of Michael Jordan. The former NBA star had too many fingers, an officer wrote in his report. ...Read More

Swiss craft janitor satellites to grab space junk

GENEVA (AP) — The tidy Swiss want to clean up space. ...Read More

Valentine's gift blamed for Calif. power outage

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A Valentine's Day gift is being blamed for a power outage in Southern California. ...Read More

Ohio church offers drive-thru for Ash Wednesday

CINCINNATI (AP) — An Ohio church is offering a drive-thru Ash Wednesday blessing for parishioners pressed for time or reluctant to come inside the church for the Lenten observance. ...Read More

Bulldog adopts 6 wild boar piglets in Germany

BERLIN (AP) — Forget the three little pigs hiding from the big bad wolf. These six little pigs have found a new friend in a maternal French bulldog named Baby. ...Read More

Pa. smokehouse fire 'best-smelling in long time'

NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP) — Firefighters in Pennsylvania have managed to save 200 pounds of Polish sausage from what they're calling the best-smelling fire they've doused in years. ...Read More

School-zone sign with 6 separate times irks driver

WHITE LAKE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — An unusual school zone speed limit sign in suburban Detroit has drawn the attention of an irked driver. ...Read More

NYC says no more restaurant meals for winning dog

NEW YORK (AP) — Even if they sit up and beg, future winners of New York City's Westminster Dog Show won't get the traditional victory steak at Sardi's. ...Read More

Student tries to throw glitter at Romney in Denver

DENVER (AP) — A 20-year-old college student tried to throw glitter on Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney as he greeted supporters in Denver following Colorado's caucuses. ...Read More

Necklace flushed down toilet returned months later

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) — A California woman has her gold necklace back months after she accidentally flushed it down her toilet. ...Read More

Hundreds ask Vt. to keep prank pig on police decal

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Remember the pig hidden within the decal on the doors of some Vermont State Police cruisers? ...Read More

Steer attacks instructor at Ohio vocational school

SHELBY, Ohio (AP) — Officials at a northern Ohio vocational school say a steer attacked a veteran instructor during a meat processing class, and students reacted quickly by closing a gate to block the animal and calling 911. ...Read More

Dozens of pets rescued from Ohio fire find home

MOUNT HEALTHY, Ohio (AP) — Several dozen animals rescued from an Ohio house fire in suburban Cincinnati have found temporary shelter. ...Read More

NYC sewage plant to offer Valentine's Day tours

NEW YORK (AP) — It may not smell like a rose but a New York City sewage plant is offering tours for lovers on Valentine's Day. ...Read More

NYC OKs restaurant meal for champion dog

NEW YORK (AP) — The winning dog at New York City's Westminster Dog Show will have his day — or his steak — after all. ...Read More

US man tries to evict 98-year-old mom on birthday

FAIRFIELD, Connecticut (AP) — A woman whose son served her with eviction papers on her 98th birthday is fighting his efforts to remove her from her home. ...Read More

Man tries to evict 98-year-old mom from Conn. home

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Peter Kantorowski wanted his 98-year-old mother to move into a nursing home or live with him. She wouldn't go; she didn't want to leave her home of nearly 60 years. ...Read More

Dozens of pets rescued from Ohio fire find homes

MOUNT HEALTHY, Ohio (AP) — Several dozen animals have found temporary shelter after Ohio firefighters rescued at least 60 pets from a house fire in a Cincinnati suburb. ...Read More

Steer attacks teacher at US meat processing class

SHELBY, Ohio (AP) — Officials at a U.S. vocational school say a steer attacked an instructor during a meat processing class, and students quickly closed a gate to block the animal and called emergency services. ...Read More

Missing Mickey Mouse spurs US school lockdown

CANFIELD, Ohio (AP) — A U.S. school says a missing Mickey Mouse spurred a brief lockdown while parents were visiting the school for Valentine's Day parties. ...Read More

NYC apartment sells for $88 million

NEW YORK (AP) — The family of a Russian billionaire has bought a New York City penthouse apartment for $88 million. ...Read More

NJ mayor recognized for 'Jersey Shore' rejection

HOBOKEN, N.J. (AP) — An Italian-American group is responding to Hoboken's rejection of MTV's "Jersey Shore" reality show — by giving the city's mayor an award. ...Read More

Female inmates put pig image in Vt. police decal

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Female prison inmates are to blame for a prank that put the image of a pig in a decal on the doors of some Vermont state police cruisers. ...Read More

Paraguay: Stray dog's barking foils prison break

ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — A stray dog is getting credit for thwarting a prison break in Paraguay. ...Read More

Fugitive runs out of gas, calls sheriff for help

EVANSTON, Wyo. (AP) — A 59-year-old fugitive is back behind bars after he ran out of gas in Wyoming and called the local sheriff's office for roadside assistance. ...Read More

Sotheby's finds hidden signature on Basquiat work

LONDON (AP) — Thirty years ago, artist Jean-Michel Basquiat secretly signed one of his paintings in invisible ink, says Sotheby's auction house, which discovered the hidden autograph as it was preparing the painting for sale. ...Read More

NM woman heads to trial for stealing $2 pumpkin

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A 23-year-old college student from New Mexico is scheduled to go to trial for allegedly stealing a small pumpkin worth two dollars. ...Read More

VW beetle police car pulls over pickup driver

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (AP) — A Volkswagen beetle owned by the Carter County Sheriff's Department became an improvised pursuit vehicle — at about 20 mph. The beetle won. ...Read More

Ky school officials say bedbugs at school a hoax

AUGUSTA, Ky. (AP) — Augusta Independent School Principal Robin Kelsch had enough to worry about with the flu. Kelsch didn't need a student's report of bedbugs at the school to make things worse. ...Read More

Retirement ends Ohio family's long-running service

HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) — Members of Hamilton police Chief Neil Ferdelman's family have held public safety jobs serving their southwestern Ohio city for 87 years straight, but that run will end with his retirement next month. ...Read More

On Valentine's day, a museum for broken hearts

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — What becomes of a garden gnome hurled in fury at a car during a stormy breakup? ...Read More

Pakistani man fights police over 40-foot shark

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Qasim Khan waged the unlikeliest of battles with Pakistani authorities Thursday over the right to charge hundreds of curious visitors the equivalent of 22 cents each to see a roughly 40-foot whale shark he bought from a fisherman. ...Read More

Polish folk art society defends its 'Oskar' award

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Few would confuse the glitz of the Academy Awards with a ceremony held by a folk arts society in Poland, but Hollywood doesn't want anyone else handing out Oscars. ...Read More

Spain sending military planes to retrieve treasure

MADRID (AP) — Spain said Monday it will soon send hulking military transport planes to Florida to retrieve 17 tons of treasure that U.S. undersea explorers found but ultimately lost in American courts, a find experts have speculated could be the richest shipwreck treasure in history. ...Read More

Dad plays porn instead of 'Smurfs' at kid's party

TREMONTON, Utah (AP) — Police aren't filing charges against a father who briefly played a pornographic video instead of "The Smurfs" at his child's birthday party. ...Read More

Gun found inside piano donated to nursing home

PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Police say an unloaded gun has been found inside a piano that was donated to a southeast Michigan nursing home years ago. ...Read More

Police: Mumbling Pa. suspect had mouthful of crack

AMBRIDGE, Pa. (AP) — A western Pennsylvania man is jailed on drug charges because police say something other than a confession came out of his mouth when he was hit with a stun gun. ...Read More

Florida only state in US with an official chef

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The air in the parking lot of Orlando's Citrus Bowl smells like fresh cut oranges, shrimp and barbecue. A crowd has gathered before the game around a guy in a black chef's coat. A camera crew orbits as he sets some shrimp and star melon kebabs on the grill with a flourish. ...Read More