April 13, 2017

Machete Cuts Off Man’s Hand In Fight, But It Gets Reattached

Lowell, MA (AP) A Massachusetts man whose hand was cut off by a machete during a fight has had it reattached, and authorities say the suspect has been ordered held without bail.

The Sun reports that police responded to a Lowell public housing project Wednesday night. Prosecutors said officers at first found only the hand because the victim ran away screaming.

His family told authorities the hand was reattached at a hospital.

The suspect, 54-year-old Domingo Ayala, was ordered held without bail Thursday pending a hearing to determine whether he is dangerous. He faces charges including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Prosecutors say the victim got into an argument with Ayala’s son, and at some point Ayala retrieved the machete. Ayala’s attorney did not immediately return a phone call.

Dog Gone: ‘General’ Opens Doors, Flees Animal Clinic

Stafford, VA (AP) A dog who escaped from a Virginia animal hospital after opening several doors has been found and reunited with his owner.

Travis Campbell tells news outlets that his family was boarding their 10-year-old Great Pyrenees named General at the Aquia-Garrisonville Animal Hospital in Stafford while they vacationed in Virginia Beach when the dog left the clinic early Monday.

Surveillance video shows the 124-pound dog unlatching the door to his kennel and opening a second door before wandering down a hallway. Footage then shows General using his mouth to open another door.

The dog was seen in an office area before opening yet another door leading to a parking lot behind the building and walking out.

Campbell says General was eventually located after being found at a home nearby.

Rapping Firefighters Go Viral With Ode To Hose In Area Codes

New Gloucester, ME (AP) They’ve got hose in different area codes.

Actually they don’t because New Gloucester (GLAH’-stur), like the rest of Maine, is located entirely in the 207 area code. But New Gloucester Fire & Rescue’s parody of the song “Area Codes” by Ludacris and Nate Dogg is going viral anyway.

The fire department’s using its parody video of the song as a recruitment tool. It features firefighters rapping and unfolding firehoses while singing about how they’ve “got hose in different area codes.”

The video had been viewed more than 318,000 times and shared about 5,000 by Monday afternoon.

WGME-TV reports the video started as a collaboration by two firefighters. Conner Boucher was the main force behind it. He’s hoping to parlay it into an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres (dih-JEN’-ur-us) Show.”

Ssscary! Cleaning Staff Finds Python In Hotel Room Drawer

Worcester, MA (AP) A worker at a Massachusetts hotel got a slithery surprise while cleaning a room‚ a 5-foot ball python left in a drawer.

The Telegram & Gazette reports that staff at the Marriott Residence Inn in Worcester found the snake last week and called animal control. Animal control took the snake to a pet supply store.

General manager Rod Dzivasen says the snake appeared to be in good health.

Officials don’t think the snake was in the room for long. Police say the person renting the room and believed to be the snake’s owner had checked out the prior day. It’s unlikely anyone will be charged.

The snakes are native to Africa.

Teen’s Quest For Free Wendy’s Nuggets Goes Big On Twitter

Reno, NV (AP) A teen’s Twitter stunt to win a year of free chicken nuggets from Wendy’s might become the platform’s most retweeted post of all time.

Carter Wilkinson asked the fast food chain on Twitter last week how many retweets it would take for him to get free nuggets for a year. Wendy’s replied, “18 million.” The 16-year-old from Nevada took up the challenge, writing: “Consider it done.”

Wilkinson’s screenshot of the exchange has since been retweeted nearly 2.5 million times and is getting closer to the all-time retweet mark of nearly 3.3 million, held by Ellen DeGeneres’ viral tweet from the 2014 Oscars.

Wilkinson tells the Reno Gazette-Journal that all the attention is “a little distracting,” and he’s now known as “the chicken nugget man” at his high school.

Man Complains Check Saying ‘Sexual Favors’ Not Cashed

Havre, MT (AP) A Montana resident who wrote “sexual favors” in the memo line on a check to pay his property taxes is complaining that the check hasn’t been cashed.

Scott Dion of the city of Havre says he sent the check for $745.77 to the local treasurer last November.

Dion tells the Billings Gazette that tax checks he sent in the past with similar memo line notes have been cashed.

Dion’s lawyer sent a letter to Hill County Treasurer Sandy Brown, saying that not cashing Dion’s check amounts to official misconduct and the treasurer should be prosecuted.

County Attorney Jessica Cole-Hodgkinson declined to comment on Dion’s situation specifically, though she said in general the treasurer can’t cash a check if it isn’t clear what the funds should be applied to.

Man In ‘Hold My Beer’ T-Shirt Drives Under Influence

Hartford, CT (AP) Connecticut police say a man wearing a T-shirt that said “Hold My Beer And Watch This” has been arrested for driving under the influence after he crashed into a graveyard.

The Hartford Courant reports state police say 25-year-old Woodstock resident Harrison Wootton crashed his car into a graveyard’s low stone wall in Putnam early Monday.

A mug shot shows Wootton wearing a black shirt with “Hold My Beer And Watch This” printed on the front.

Police say Wootton was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, failing to drive in the proper lane and misuse of plates.

It’s unclear whether Wootton is represented by an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

A phone listing under his name has been disconnected.