Don't Panic! Lighten Up!S

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Canadian Woman Offers Free Hugs

A 26-year-old Canadian woman says she offering free hugs for the third year in a row on the streets of Toronto.

"Some people will walk by smiling and other people will come running because they love the hugs," said Tanya Neumeyer, who took to the streets Sunday with her older brother Ian in tow.

The Neumeyers and a few friends carried large signs saying "Free Hugs," which startled some passersby and comforted others, The Toronto Star reported Monday.

Pistol

Freeze, Middle Class!

Geithner
© AFP - Yuri GripasThis is a stick-up!

Smiley

Software Glitch Leads to Cheap Gas in Dutch Town

Miniature oil rush in Dutch town after software glitch leads to cheap gas.

Friday night was the right time to get tanked in the Dutch town of Genderen. An unmanned gas station began offering customers gas for 1 cent per liter (around $0.05 per gallon) - a discount of more than 99 percent - thanks to a software glitch in the machine, local paper Brabants Dagblad reported Monday.

As word of the deal spread, business boomed literally overnight at the station, 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Amsterdam.

"At first we thought that the price board was broken, but when it got really busy, we alerted" the station's operator, the paper quoted owner Marijke Thur as saying.

Smiley

Floridian Man Robs Beer from Convenience Store, Sits Down on Bench Outside

A man who tried to rob a convenience store and made off with two bottles of beer didn't make it far -- sheriff's deputies found him sitting on the bench outside the store with the booze.

The suspect came into a Chevron in Deltona shortly after 3:30 a.m. on Saturday and tried to buy two beers, Volusia County Sheriff's Office said. The clerk told the man that liquor laws prohibit the sale of alcohol between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. but the suspect walked behind the counter, shoved the clerk and told him he would kill him if he didn't turn over all of the money, authorities said.

The suspect put his hand under his sweatshirt to imply he had a gun, but the clerk refused to give him money. The suspect shoved the clerk one more time, grabbed the beer and walked out of the store, the sheriff's office said.

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Intruder Cooks, Then Eats Steak While Resident Away

Peoria, Illinois - A man returned home Saturday to find someone had broken in, but nothing was missing - except a $6 steak that was apparently cooked and eaten while he was away.

An intruder broke a window to enter 1516 NE Perry Ave. sometime between 11 a.m. and 9:45 p.m.

The resident, returning home that night, discovered the broken window. After searching the house for any missing items, he went into his kitchen and found a large mess.

Smiley

Lemonade Shortage Prompts 911 Call

Boynton Beach, Florida - A 66-year-old man is facing charges for calling 911 to complain that a Florida fast-food restaurant was out of lemonade, police say.

Boynton Beach police charged Jean Fortune with misusing emergency services for his alleged phone call Saturday in which he complained about that lack of his preferred beverage at a local Burger King, The Palm Beach Post reported Sunday.

An arrest report alleges Fortune became upset upon learning the fast-food restaurant was out of lemonade.

Cult

A Horse of a Different Color Divides Denver

Denver_Mustang_02
Courtesy of Denver International Airport
Blue Mustang Sculpture Shocks Visitors, Perturbs Poets; 'Because of This Thing, People Think They Are in Hell'

The mustang rears on splayed hind legs -- his nostrils flaring, his eyes glowing red, his taut body a slick, sweaty sheen of blue. Anatomically correct -- eye-poppingly so -- the 32-foot-tall fiberglass sculpture makes quite a statement at the gateway to Denver International Airport.

But that begs the question: What kind of statement, exactly?

"It looks like it's possessed," says Denver resident Samantha Horoschak. "I have a huge fear of flying anyway, and to be greeted at the airport by a demon horse -- it's not a soothing experience."

Many people here agree, calling the muscular steed a terrifying welcome to the Mile High City.

Pumpkin

World's top 10 scariest airports

Gibraltar Airport_01
Nervous fliers, stop reading! Travel & Leisure has come up with a list of the world's scariest runways that can make even the most relaxed travellers grip their armrest.

Top Secret

Putin denies dancing to Abba hits

Putin not
© AFPVladimir Putin and seven other guests were at the gig, Bjorn Again says
An Abba tribute band says it has performed a private concert for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Bjorn Again says it was paid ยฃ20,000 to play the gig 200 miles (320km) north of Moscow on 22 January.

Bjorn Again's manager Rod Stephen and other band members said Mr Putin danced to Abba hits and shouted "Bravo!"

The PM's spokesman denied the claim. Mr Putin - a former KGB spy who has a black belt in judo - is known in Russia and the West for his macho image.

Smiley

Escaped Prisoner Turns Up in Michigan Judge's Trunk

A Michigan judge says he's learned a lesson about locking his car after a 16-year-old prisoner who escaped from a courthouse cell was found hiding in the vehicle's trunk.

The Macomb Daily reports the teen had vanished Friday after appearing in juvenile court in Mount Clemens on a probation violation.

Sheriff's deputies searched for about an hour until a security officer became suspicious when he saw a picture that had fallen to the ground outside judge's car.