Newsman, 24, fired for "extremely offensive" blog posts

Matt Donegan's editor at the weekly Dover (DE) Post says the MySpace.com posts were "extremely offensive and just contrary to what we believe here." Donegan calls his firing "a freedom-of-speech issue," and says "what I wrote ... was rude, but it doesn't make it wrong." (Romenesko/DelawareOnline.com)

Fight over birdseed leads to man getting shot in the groin

A 65-year-old woman is accused of shooting her 52-year-old neighbor in the groin with a 12-gauge shotgun. The fight started when the woman refused to stop throwing birdseed in the man's yard. (Arizona Republic)

Tragic: Woman falls to her death after climbing grain elevator

Germain Vigeant had been warned by her brother a few weeks ago to stay away from the abandoned grain elevators near her home, but police say the 20-year-old college student trespassed onto private property, climbed 10 stories up an elevator and apparently fell to her death. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
> JEROME STEMNOCK writes: Tragic? I disagree. Sad, surely. But tragedy implies a date with an overwhelming and probably unavoidable destiny. I don't think there is any lesson in Ms. Vigeant's story except that going out of your way to do something stupid can get you killed. If Hamlet had died as a result of climbing a grain elevator, the play would have closed on opening night.
> ROB EADS writes: Long ago I heard tragedy defined as: "A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances." (via answers.com) In other words, an event is defined as a tragedy if it occurs to a person due to a personality or character flaw. Or, as my mother used to tell me, "You brought it on yourself!" Think of any "Jackass" type stunt that goes bad as well. This story is a tragedy in the truest sense of the definition because the young woman was warned, but refused to heed the warning.

"Dream car" leaks carbon monoxide, killing one and hospitalizing two

Investigators found no indication that the BMW -- a teacher's retirement gift -- was left running intentionally. Some of the rooms in the home had carbon monoxide levels 35 times higher than what it would take to set off a carbon monoxide detector. (St. Petersburg Times)

Traffic diverted after truck dumps animal parts on the road

A newspaper staffer described the smell near the road as a "horrendous odor." The city street department brought in a front-end loader to clear the carcasses and parts from the scene. They were able to scrape the pavement clean. (Wisconsin Rapids Tribune)

Driver cited for playing X-rated movie while in drive-through line

While parked and waiting in line at McDonald's, a woman and her passengers - a 9-year-old and a 92-year-old - got an eyeful as a porn movie played on a TV screen inside the car in front of them. The woman noted the car's license plate number and gave it to police. They quickly discovered that it was three brothers who were watching the movie. (TheEagle.com)

Grocery store clerk detained after using foul language toward shoppers

A witness says the intoxicated clerk directed obscenities toward people in the store, told everyone in the store to leave and said "we can do this the easy way or the f***** way," using a derogatory term for gays. The man became frustrated when the line grew long, and he had trouble giving back change to customers and swiping student cards. (GW Hatchet)

Sarasota official scoffs at "meanest city" ranking

Sarasota is the "meanest city in the nation" toward homeless people? "It's ridiculous. Total baloney," says City Commissioner Lou Ann Palmer. "If anything, the city of Sarasota is one of most caring communities in the world." (St. Petersburg Times)

Woman is surprised to learn she's been paying for an unused rotary phone

Her cost: Probably $1,300 or so. The thing has been in a box in her basement for the better part of a decade. AT&T was willing to pay the postage to reclaim the outdated, clunky, heavy, yellowish, rotary-dial, wall-mount phone, writes Jim Stingl. The mailer arrived last week. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/reg. req.)

Online p*rn is "like a tidal wave that has swept over kids"

That's what one psychologist says. "Kids are exposed to this at incredibly early ages, when their brains are going through profound developmental changes." (USA Today)