Authorities in Florida said they arrested a man who allegedly faked an armed robbery to gain sympathy from his estranged girlfriend.

The Martin County Sheriff's Office said Derick Culberson, 22, of Palm City, told deputies Friday night that two men armed with a silver pistol stole his vehicle's GPS device and bound his hands and ankles with plastic zip ties, TCPalm.com reported Tuesday.

Investigators said inconsistencies in Culberson's story made them suspicious and they discovered zip ties in his truck that were similar to the ones on his wrists and ankles when deputies arrived on the scene.

The sheriff's office report of the incident states Culberson eventually admitted to inventing the robbery "in an attempt to make his girlfriend feel bad for leaving him."

"Culberson admitted to tying his own hands and feet, and further inventing the suspects' vehicle and weapon descriptions that he gave to sheriff's office dispatch and deputies," the report states.

Culberson was arrested and charged with misdemeanor false report of the commission of a crime. He was released Saturday from the Martin County jail after posting $250 bail.

A DNA profile recovered from chewing tobacco spit led to criminal charges against two La Crosse men accused of stealing a safe containing more than $3,000 in cash and beer tokens from a town of Campbell bar.

The owner of Sher-Bear Tavern at 328 Goodard St. told officers a large safe bolted to a kitchen counter was stolen early Feb. 5 after a door was pried open with a crowbar, according to the criminal complaint filed today in La Crosse County Circuit Court.
The key to unlock the safe was found untouched near the safe.

A fisherman found the safe and a tavern voucher for a six-pack of beer Feb. 9 on a sandbar in the Kaskaskia River south of Carlyle, Ill.

Officers collected a sample from the trail of chewing tobacco spit leading away from the tavern, the complaint stated.

DNA from the saliva matched Brian Scholl, 21, who was arrested Tuesday, according to the complaint.

From the La Crosse County Jail, Scholl called a woman who was storing his car and asked her to remove the safe, which he believed still was in his trunk, the complaint stated.

A search of the vehicle produced a receipt for a $77.44 hotel room rented to Joel Cruz, 21, the day after the burglary about 30 miles from where the safe was discovered, according to the complaint.

Inmate duct taped

POCATELLO -- The first hint that Nicklas Frasure's hearing was going to be unusual came at the outset when the man attempted to fire his court-appointed counsel. It eventually culminated with the man's mouth bound with duct tape in an attempt to quell his frequent and irrational outbursts.

Frasure, 23, appeared before Sixth District Judge Peter D. McDermott Monday morning for an evidentiary hearing on reports of a probation violation for a 2008 felony theft conviction. Frasure's counsel, Kent Reynolds, requested near the outset that his client undergo a competency exam, a point Frasure hotly contested.

"I'm totally fine," Frasure said. "I have a sense of humor. I'm not bad looking. I can walk on my hands."

Frasure's tangential and odd comments persisted throughout the hearing, with his mood rapidly changing from incredulity to outrage to apparent mirth regarding his court appearance. At one point, Frasure referred to his appearance as a form of "terrorism."

"I'm not only innocent, but a victim," Frasure said. "I need to be released."

McDermott, whose general demeanor toward defendants is patient and gentle, tried unsuccessfully on numerous occasions to quiet Frasure's insistent non sequiturs until after the prosecutor and his own attorney had concluded.

Frasure's mother took the stand to describe her son's behavior, including escalating bouts of drinking and erratic behavior. The woman said Frasure had been much better after his release from State Hospital South in Blackfoot in October but had quit taking his medications shortly after his discharge.

"The last two months he started being really bizarre," the woman said.

The woman described how her son had calmly told her that a voice had told him to "take a shotgun and blow your head off."

The presence of his mother on the stand increased Frasure's outbursts, many of them referring to his needless persecution and his religious faith. Frasure continued to interrupt the proceedings, asking his mother to admit to murder.

McDermott continued to warn Frasure to no avail about his outbursts and told him he would have a chance to address the court and pose questions of witnesses. He finally threatened to duct tape the man's mouth if he did not be quiet.

After several more lengthy and jumbled outbursts and additional warnings about a gag being employed, McDermott finally indicated he'd had enough, ordering the bailiffs to duct tape the man's mouth. The proceedings halted for several minutes while bailiffs retrieved the tape, tore a piece from the roll and applied it over the man's mouth.

Reynold's renewed his request for a competency exam.

"He's obviously not mentally competent," Reynolds said.

McDermott told Reynolds he would continue to take the request under advisement and continued the evidentiary hearing. Frasure continued to speak throughout the hearing despite the gag, insistently asking his mother if she were guilty of murder.

"I don't know how to proceed when Mr. Frasure is totally psychotically disabled," Reynolds said, causing McDermott to ask the woman if she felt her son was mentally ill and might harm her. The woman replied "yes" to both questions.

Frasure's probation officer, Julie Guiberson, took the stand and opined that the man was a threat to both himself and others, and particularly to his mother.

"He is probably the most mentally unstable person I have ever supervised," Guiberson said.

Guiberson noted that one of the probation provisions that Frasure was alleged to have violated was a requirement to take all prescribed medications. She said that Frasure had admitted to having stopped taking his medications due to side effects.

At the close of the hearing, Frasure's gag was removed and he again engaged in a rambling discourse. McDermott thanked the man for his comments.

McDermott declined to make a determination regarding Frasure's alleged probation violations, deciding to commit the man to a secure Department of Correction facility in Boise for evaluation and treatment rather than the non-secure facility in Blackfoot.

"I want to see you get better," McDermott told Frasure.

"You want to arm wrestle?" was Frasure's reply before being led from the courtroom by bailiffs.

By John Bulger

A Virginia woman who auctioned off a bridesmaid spot on eBay said the sale also resulted in free beverages when it was won by soda company Dr Pepper.

Kelly Gray said the auction last summer was meant as a way to raise money for her wedding to Karl Gau, which took place Sunday in Virginia Beach, but the soda maker's victory meant that she received not only a $10,000 donation toward wedding costs, but also a free supply of Dr Pepper for the reception, the (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported Monday.

Gray said news of Dr Pepper's donation led several other businesses to supply the wedding cake, DJ photo booth and other wedding must-haves.

The bride said she had an ice sculpture at the ceremony carved to resemble a vintage Diet Dr Pepper bottle as a tribute to the benefactor.

"I thought it would cool, kind of a good way to give back," she said. "If it wasn't for Diet Dr Pepper, it wouldn't have been this dream wedding."

Rare blue diamond to bring $8.5 million

April 20, 2009 • 4:29 pm

 A rare, 7.03-carat blue diamond, expected to bring up to $8.5 million at auction, is on display in New York.

 Sotheby’s New York previewed the vivid blue diamond today which is slightly smaller than a dime and shaped like a cushion. It will be sold in Geneva on May 12.

 The conditions that are required to form a colored diamond seldom occur in nature, making them extremely rare. Sotheby’s said the gem also was notable for its clarity. 

The diamond was unearthed last year in the Cullinan diamond mine, northeast of Pretoria, South Africa. The stone was cut from a 26.58-carat diamond in the rough.

A new study funded by a chewing gum manufacturer suggests that its brand of sugar-free gum might reduce calorie intake in some people.

The study, presented at the Experimental Biology 2009 meeting in New Orleans, was reported over the weekend by some media outlets with little context. Yet like all heath-related studies, this one should not be considered in isolation nor should it spur a new diet strategy.

In the study, 115 men and women came in for two sessions. In each session, they had a sandwich, and then hung around three hours and participated in a survey about their hunger and energy levels. They each chewed Extra sugar-free gum for 15 minutes hourly for three hours during one session but not the other session.

In the surveys, the chewers reported decreased feelings of hunger and cravings for something sweet, and also reported feeling more energetic and less drowsy, the researchers said in a statement. After the three-hour period, the participants were presented with a variety of snacks they could eat at will. The gum chewers consumed 40 fewer snack calories and 60 fewer sweet snack calories.

"This research supports the role of chewing gum as an easy, practical tool for managing snack, especially sweet snack, intake and cravings," said lead researcher Paula J. Geiselman, chief of women's health and eating behavior at Pennington Biomedical Research Center and Louisiana State University.

The study was funded by Wrigley, maker of Extra gum.

The rest of the story

However, even sugar-free chewing gum is not without potential side effects. And clearly much more research is needed on the multitude of potential effects associated with artificial sweeteners.

Sorbitol, the sweetener used in Extra and some other gums, is a laxative, for example.

A study last year, detailed in the British Medical Journal, found that excess sorbitol can cause chronic diarrhea, other stomach problems, and unintended weight loss. That study — incredibly small, it should be noted — involved a detailed analysis of two patients who consumed more than 18 grams a day of sorbitol by chewing gum and eating other artificial sweets. (One stick of chewing gum contains about 1.25g sorbitol.) After both patients started a sorbitol-free diet, diarrhea subsided and they gained their weight back.

Beyond chewing gum, the case for artificial sweeteners gets very sticky, and different sweeteners may have different effects.

A study on rats last year, reported in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience, suggested that ingesting the artificial sweetener saccharin confuses the body's ability to regulate food intake, and may actually cause weight gain for some. In short, the artificial sweetener might trigger the expectation of real food to come, so the body coaxes a person to then eat more, concluded Purdue University researchers Susan Swithers and Terry Davidson.

"The data clearly indicate that consuming a food sweetened with no-calorie saccharin can lead to greater body-weight gain and adiposity than would consuming the same food sweetened with a higher-calorie sugar," the researchers wrote.

Lots of tips, few strategies

Back to chewing gum as a weight-loss technique: There are myriad ways to cut calories and trim that waistline.

Another study out today — this one supported by the egg industry — suggests that eating eggs for breakfast can help you "manage hunger while reducing calorie consumption throughout the day." Men who ate eggs rather than bagels consumed fewer calories the rest of the day, perhaps owing to the satiating role of protein, the thinking goes.

This work, also presented at the Experimental Biology meeting, is yet another that may have some merit but which should not by itself spur a diet strategy. Eggs also contain lots of cholesterol, and the FDA still suggests you limit egg yolk intake to no more than four per week.

Most experts agree the best approach to a healthy you involves eating a variety of good foods in moderation, avoiding soda, sweets and other junk food, and regular exercise.

Buglars caught in taxi 'owned by victim'

Two burglars were caught after booking a taxi home from a raid in a car driven by one of their victims.

I am Mexican, I live in Mexico, work in Mexico, raise my family in Mexico and will die here, in Mexico.

The finger pointing has GOT to stop. Decades have passed, trillions of YOUR tax dollars have been spent and you are no closer to winning your "War on Drugs" than you were 40 years ago. It's time to start taking a look in the mirror, instead of memorizing sensationalist headlines, stats, and figures.

We are really not as different as you would think, the difference is the CORRUPTION IN MEXICO is out in the open, for the world to see. Whereas, in the U.S. it is still practiced behind closed doors.

The weapons said to be entering Mexico from the U.S. and falling into narco's killing hands: Another he said, she said. Mexico says 90%, new stats say 17%...and? These arguments and comments are like fighting to death over whether the sky is baby blue or sky blue..The truth is weapons are entering. Where they bought in a gun swap, wal-mart, or your local gun shop? Who knows, but doubtful. Again, that's not the point.

Another detail you seem to be hung up on is: Cartel Kingpins wouldn't want your semi-automatic UZI's, .50 cal and more...THAT IS TRUE.

THESE guys have no use for what you have to offer. They have the money to get anything from anywhere at the drop of a hat...BUT do you think ALL narcos are kingpins? Do you think the guy selling out of the local "tiendita" is a Capo? Do you think the extortionists, kidnappers, and "plaza" collectors are all on the Forbes' list? The cartels don't deliver "cartel" issued fully automatics to every Jose, Jesus, and Juan that work for them, most find their own, based on their own preference, and YES...they like what you have to offer even if it means they have to tap the trigger of a semi-automatic assault rifle 60 times in 60 seconds instead of getting an autospray...But that is NOT your problem.. If it is legal for these weapons to be bought and sold as "recreational, sport, or home security" that's fine and dandy...I don't feel you should lose your rights for "someone" allowing them to walk out of your country, I simply want you to take a closer look at who's getting weapons and where they end up.

Immigrants...I personally, do NOT, agree with ANY type of illegal immigration: from any country to any country..There are legal methods and they should be strictly abided. BUT, it has been happening for DECADES. Do you honestly think millions of illegal immigrants have waited until nightfall to slip over the cracks into your country? Open your eyes, please.

Just as my country has helped the immigrant pack their bags and hold their hand to the border, YOUR country has left the back porch light on and the key beneath the mat. For decades it was all find and dandy: Americans had cheap labor in so called "undesirable" jobs. A maid, nanny, and gardener in every home was available to all. Mexico had no reason to really focus on those unimportant little issues such as poverty, unemployment, and education. Wallets fattened on both sides of the border at the cost of the WORKING CITIZENS on both sides of the border. The economic crisis has changed all that, eyes are opening. Those once undesirable jobs are now in demand by American citizens and your stuck with millions of "undocumented" laborers in a country which is now struggling to support their own.

I understand your anger. It's all WRONG! Illegal immigration is WRONG. The war on drugs is WRONG. Trillions of dollars to foreign countries and for what? To keep the drugs flowing, and the VIOLENCE out. How's that working?

NAFTA? Wow! Mexican trucks are bad, they're all dangerous and Mexicans take American jobs, right? How about those corporations, American big wigs who are cutting your throats to offshore your jobs? Of course, that would be the foreigners's fault for accepting a job offered in their own country, right?

The truth is WE created a monster. The U.S. was thrilled to demand drugs and immigrants, and Mexico was more than happy to supply it all, after all, what are neighbors for if we can't help each other out, right? Now we are all fu*ked. We can all sit around pointing fingers, @!$%#ing and complaining, "Damn Mexicans and Pinche Gringos". We can sit on forums and vent our hate, we can cry. We're are, after all, victims, right?

No, we are idiots: victims of our own greed and laziness who allowed it to happen on both sides of the border, your and mine. For those of you who claim Mexico is not a democracy, how's your own democratic system working for you? Are you happy?

Mexico and our citizens were ignorant enough to sleep thru almost a century. We were silent little, conformists: Blind, Deaf, and Dumb. Somehow we thought casting a vote in the ballot might make a difference, and when it didn't, time after time, we just fell silent. Democracy is not about voting, the job doesn't end there, it begins. It is up to us, citizens, to provide the checks and balances and make our demands and needs, our united voices, not only heard, but placed into action. We seem to think to be a proud patriot of our country we must settle for what is offered, good or bad. There is no shame in admitting fault, mis-steps, and error as an individual or a nation: quite the contrary, it will maintain strength and unity; something we both have lost over time.

Mexico is finally beginning to awaken. You may laugh and you may shoot back any type of b.s. you choose, but we are. We finally have a President with the "huevos" to fight a century of corruption and go head to head with Cartels all the while implementing employment, social, and educational programs that have been ignored and denied in the past.

We have placed our cards on the table. We are a mess: corruption, deceit, violence, drugs, poverty. We have admitted our faults and errors and are beginning to SEE, HEAR, AND SPEAK. We have not and are NOT failing, we are only beginning to find our footing and see reality. Looking in the mirror is and facing the truth is often not pretty, as an individual or a nation, but it MUST be done..

Instead of pointing fingers at each other, we need to begin with our own. The he said-she said bull@!$%# has gone on long enough with absolutely NO positive results on either side of the border. We don't need to be friends to be neighbors, but do we need to be enemies? The U.S.-MEXICAN standoff is just that: It'll continue to keep us standing for decades while all crumbles to hell around us.

Peace/Paz to You and Yours

 

Story Created: Apr 18, 2009 at 11:17 AM MDT

Story Updated: Apr 18, 2009 at 11:17 AM MDT

HOBOKEN, N.J. (AP) - Hoboken police say a man posing as a waiter collected $186 in cash from diners at two restaurants and walked out with the money in his pocket.

Diners described the bogus waiter as a spikey-haired 20-something wearing a dark blue or black button-down shirt, yellow tie and khaki pants.

Police say he approached two women in their 20s dining at Hobson's Choice on Hudson Street around 7:20 p.m. on Thursday. He asked if they needed anything else before paying. They said no and handed him $90 in cash.

About two hours later he approached three women in their 40s dining at Margherita's Pizza and Cafe on Washington Street. He asked if they were ready to pay, took $96 in cash and never returned with the change they asked for.