Man accused of frequent hanky-panky with horses at track

"This guy makes Michael Vick look like a charter member of PETA," says the police chief. (RecordOnline.com)

Billboard showing Joseph and Mary in bed sparks controversy

A Catholic Diocese spokeswoman says the billboard implies the Virgin Mary and Joseph had just had sex; that's inappropriate, disrespectful and offensive to Christians, she says. (AP via NPR) || Jump to the fifth page of comments.

Lawyer calls road-rage incident "a product of the economy"

Brian Clark had just lost his job when he heard a driver honk at him. That did it! He attacked the guy with a hammer. Blame the economy, says Clark's lawyer. Cincinnati Enquirer)

Bored bank customer texts bogus report about robbery-in-progress

The girlfriend called police after receiving the text about a man with a gun inside the bank. (There was no such guy.) The boyfriend was arrested. (NBCChicago.com)

Mall security confiscates T-shirts that business owners don't like

The shirts say, "Welcome to Pleasant Grove." Below the words is a silkscreen image of a man tossing a body into the trunk of an old Buick. A pawnshop owner outraged by the shirt says "it was horrible. I would have bought them just to get rid of them. But I didn't want to give them money." (DallasNews.com)

Mom exposes son's plan to unleash stink bomb at high school

She probably took him by the ear and marched him home. The kid had a bag with ingredients like baking soda, flour, sugar and salt. (Longmont Times-Call)

Accused groom has to wear monitoring bracelet at his wedding

The 24-year-old man stands accused of sexually assaulting a woman and head-butting a Missoula police officer at his bachelor party last month. A court-ordered monitoring bracelet is a condition of his continued release from jail. Missoulian.com | More details)

Car dealer tells man to delete Facebook, Twitter posts .... or else!

The guy didn't like how he was treated by Route 60 Hyundai’s service department, so he used Twitter and Facebook to complain about the place. Now he's gotten a cease and desist order from the dealership. (TCPalm.com)

The annual holiday letter -- you sort of hate it and sort of love it

Come to think of it, those holiday letters are really just one long Facebook status update -- too much information about something you mostly don't care about. (Boston Globe)

Boy with beer accused of stealing neighbor's Christmas presents

April Wright, 21, who is going through a divorce with her jailed husband, says she isn't sure how her 4-year-old boy managed to get out of the house, open a beer, and steal the neighbor's presents from under their tree. She promises it won't happen again. (NewsChannel9.com)

Teacher put on leave after taking students to Hooters restaurant

Music teacher and choir director Mary Segall told her principal that the restaurant was the only place that could accommodate a group of 40 students. (Arizona Republic)

"I'm a whore": Graphic testimony in woman's sex-for-tickets trial

Remember the woman who allegedly offered sex for tickets to the Phillies-Yankees World Series game? A cop testified that she said: "I admit it. I'm a prostitute. I love sex. I'm a whore." (Philadelphia Daily News)

Mortuary student who made Facebook threats back on campus

Amanda Tatro had a big meeting with people involved in the saga and said, "I'm sorry you felt that I would have done something to hurt you." She's allowed back on campus. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Couple accused of making up story about death due to bad oysters

It looks like they're going to have to return that $2 million from the insurance company. (Argus Leader)

School says newspaper's story on Jesus drawing was all wrong

The school says the boy was never suspended and that neither he nor other students at the elementary were asked by the teacher to sketch something that reminded them of Christmas or any religious holiday. Also it's unclear whether the boy had even drawn the stick-figure Jesus picture in school. (Boston Globe)
> Mayor wants superintendent to apologize for stick-figure fiasco
> WWJD?: Here's a good analysis of the brouhaha

Student banned from campus because of her Facebook posts

University of Minnesota mortuary science student Amanda Tatro was angry after breaking up with her boyfriend, and wrote on Facebook that she was "looking forward to Monday's embalming therapy. ... Give me room, lots of aggression to be taken out with a trocar [a sharp surgical instrument used in embalming]." (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Claim: Cop faked burglary report to hide squad car sexcapade

Teachers from a Christian school reported seeing the officer engaged in sexual acts in the back of his squad car while he was supposed to be on a burglary call. He may have concocted a police report on the call. (Dallas Morning News)

Dad says he just had to watch video of son choking to death on pot

He says of the video: "I don’t want that to be used as a bad thing. I want that to become a good thing. I want that to show kids what could happen to them. Kids that are in high school, this could happen to you." (Panama City Beach News Herald)

Man gets phone bill for $21,917.59; his teen son is to blame

"There is no way I could afford this," says Ted Estarija, who lost his job as an accountant in October and is looking for work. His 13-year-old son downloaded about 1.4 million kilobytes of data last month, and data usage isn't covered under Estarija's plan. (Oakland Tribune)

Doctor and wife accused of shoplifting at Macy's just for kicks

They took turns serving as a lookout while the other took items - more than $1,500 worth - from just about every department in Macy's store. The doctor admitted to police that he makes more than $150,000. (WauwatosaNow.com)

Student suffers black eye, knot on head during sorority cat-fight

One of the sorority sisters, who is 5 feet, 2 inches and about 110 pounds, said to a 5-foot, 130-pound rival sister: "Come on fat blonde, right here." That started the trouble. (Naples Daily News)

Murder Mystery Train runs over man lying on railroad tracks

Why he was on the tracks remains a mystery. (News-Press.com)

Second-grader suspended over stick figure of Christ on cross

The boy's father says the school complained that his son had created a violent drawing. The image in question (at left) depicted a crucified Jesus with Xs covering his eyes to signify that he had died on the cross. (Taunton Daily Gazette)

Boy faces possible pre-kindergarten expulsion for having long hair

The 4-year-old kid likes his hair just below his ears and along his collar in the back. That violates school rules. (DallasNews.com)

Wanted man mutilates his fingers to conceal his prints

Francis Viliar told police over the weekend that he paid someone $400 to cut his fingers vertically, from the fingertip to the knuckle joint, so his prints would be unreadable. (Boston Globe)

What the...?!: Fetus wrapped in Christmas gift box buried in yard

The parents are accused of inducing an abortion, wrapping the fetus up as a Christmas present and burying it in the yard at the woman's residence. (TheMonitor.com)

Drunk Santa Claus scares kids while looking for his reindeer

"He smelled like alcohol, so I knew it wasn't the real Santa because Santa doesn't drink alcohol," says 9-year-old Katie Dockerty. The 55-year-old Santa was yelling at kids, "Have you seen my reindeer? If you see my reindeer, call me right away." (WEAU.com)

The North Face makes good on threat to sue The South Butt

The lawsuit says: "While defendants may try to legitimize their piracy under the banner of parody, their own conduct belies that claim." The suit notes that The South Butt founder once offered to sell his company to The North Face for $1 million. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Update: Drunk woman who called 911 on herself pleads not guilty

Make up your mind, ma'am! Were you drunk or not? (Wausau Daily Herald | Earlier story)

Woman arrested after repeatedly pestering pair about a three-way

I'll let you figure out why they said no. (Rep-Am.com)