Police: Pregnant woman tries to rob NC bank, but leaves after getting call on cell phone

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Police are looking for a pregnant woman they say tried to rob a North Carolina bank at gunpoint but left empty-handed after answering her cell phone. Fayetteville police spokeswoman Teresa Chance said Wednesday the woman had a handgun and demanded money when she entered a Carter Bank & Trust branch at 9:43 a.m. Tuesday.

Metal underwire in Detroit woman’s bra deflects bullet from men breaking into neighbor’s home

DETROIT — The metal underwire in a Detroit woman’s bra was credited with deflecting a bullet fired at her during a break-in at a neighbor’s home. Detroit police Officer Leon Rahmaan said the 57-year-old woman apparently looked out her window Tuesday when one of three men fired the shot.

NYC dad robbed homes while mom drove getaway car with children, prosecutors say

NEW YORK — Prosecutors said a New York City dad and another man robbed homes while his girlfriend drove the getaway minivan with the kids in tow. The three pleaded not guilty Wednesday to burglary and weapon charges. The Queens district attorney’s office said a witness saw the blue minivan outside his home Monday with a woman in the driver’s seat and the two men going out his front door.

Police say man in ninja gear attempted to rob dry cleaners in Mass. with a sword

WEYMOUTH, Mass. — Police say a man dressed liked a ninja used a sword in an attempt to rob a Weymouth dry cleaner.

Pair punch out 217,000 text messages in a month in attempt to break record

PHILADELPHIA — Their thumbs sure must be sore.

Police say a sword-waving ninja attempted to ron convience store, cleaners

WEYMOUTH, Mass. — Police say a man dressed liked a ninja used a sword in an attempt to rob a Weymouth dry cleaner. According to police, a convenience store clerk called police Monday after she noticed a man walking into the store wearing a ski mask and carrying a sword in a sheath on his belt. When the man noticed her, he pulled his mask off and asked if she was calling about him, police said.

Dominican Republic mulls ban on bizarre names including ‘Rambo Weed’ and ‘Dear Family Perez’

Dominican Republic mulls ban on bizarre names

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — The Dominican Republic is considering a ban on unusual monikers following an increase in the number of names based on car brands, intimate body parts and other things. The names range from the bizarre — “Dear Pineapple”, “Iloveyou Lover” — to the commercial — “Mazda Altagracia” and “Toshiba Fidelina.”

Missing circus monkey captured in central Fla. mobile home park with the lure of junk food

FRUITLAND PARK, Fla. — He spent six weeks on the lam from the circus, but Reggie the spider monkey has been captured with the help of junk food.

Maine town seeks way to get rid of dead cow stuck below river waterfall

RUMFORD, Maine — Rumford officials are trying to figure out what do with the bloated carcass of a cow that floated down the Androscoggin River and over a waterfall before landing on some rocks, where it has remained for nearly three weeks.

Connecticut police arrest woman twice in 3 hours on drunken driving charges

FARMINGTON, Conn. — Connecticut police booked a 29-year-old woman for drunken driving, and then charged her with the same crime less than three hours later when they spotted her behind the wheel again.

Fla. officials say 200-pound wild hog attacks woman in the leg in her back yard

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Officials said a wild hog attacked a woman in the back yard of her home. St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue reported that a 26-year-old woman was told there was a pig in her back yard Monday afternoon. When she went outside to investigate, the 200-pound animal charged her, cutting the back of her left leg.

Officer finds NH woman passed out at a traffic light, with one foot still on brake

MANCHESTER, N.H. — The car, stopped at a traffic light in Manchester, N.H., didn’t move when the light turned green. So a police officer checked it out and found the driver asleep at the wheel, with one foot still on the brake. The 22-year-old driver eventually woke up and was arrested Monday on a charge of aggravated driving while intoxicated, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported.

Florida woman accused of using ‘animal tissue’ to fake a miscarriage in apartment

OAKLAND PARK, Fla. — Deputies said a woman in South Florida has faked a miscarriage. The Broward county Sheriff’s Office responded an emergency call of a possible miscarriage just before 8 a.m. Tuesday at an Oakland Park apartment. Upon arrival, they learned a woman staged the incident using what authorities described only as “animal tissue.”

‘Sorry’ _ guard gets punched trying to stop couple desperate to make off with box of diapers

SPOKANE, Wash. — Authorities in Washington state say a couple were so determined to make off with merchandise without paying that a security guard who tried to stop them got punched.

Kiwi quandary: After 200 years, New Zealand realizes its islands don’t have legal names

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Experts searching for alternative Maori names for New Zealand’s two main islands were startled to find that their commonly used English names — North Island and South Island — were never made legal, officials said Tuesday.

After 200 years, New Zealand realizes its islands don’t actually have legal names

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Experts searching for alternative Maori names for New Zealand’s two main islands were startled to find their commonly used English names — North Island and South Island — were never made legal, officials said Tuesday.