AkashaJayden's blog: "Strange News"

2 hours, 7 minutes ago NEW YORK (Reuters) - On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me ... a frog dissection kit? Shoppers at upscale U.S. menswear and accessory store Jack Spade in Manhattan's trendy SoHo district were hopping mad to see frog dissection kits selling alongside $775 leather file cases and $145 Italian calfskin passport holders. The $40 kit came in a cloth bag complete with a vacuum-sealed formaldehyde-treated frog, scissors, magnifying glass, forceps, probing sticks, ruler, instruction booklet on how to explore the animal's innards, and a moist towelette. After a barrage of complaints from shoppers and animal activists, the store said Tuesday that it had cleared its shelves of the kits and would no longer offer them. "We're going to issue an apology," said company spokesman Mordechai Rubinstein. "The intent was to celebrate science and biology, present something educational for children and adults," he said. "Jack Spade doesn't support the unethical treatment of animals." Animal campaign group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said it wrote to the company last week after receiving complaints about the product. "We were shocked to discover that the dissection kit contains the carcass of a real frog," said spokesman Michael McGraw. The Jack Spade store said it only sold a handful of the kits before ditching the idea.

Wed Nov 22, 7:25 AM ET ATLANTA - A police official said narcotics officers were justified in returning fire on a 92-year-old woman they shot to death after she shot them as they tried to serve a warrant at her house. Neighbors and relatives said it was a case of mistaken identity. But police said the woman, identified as Kathryn Johnston, was the only resident in the house at the time and had lived there for about 17 years. Assistant Chief Alan Dreher said the officers had a legal warrant and "knocked and announced" before they forced open the door. He said they were justified in shooting once they were fired upon. As the plainclothes Atlanta police officers approached the house about 7 p.m., a woman inside started shooting, striking each of them, said Officer Joe Cobb, a police spokesman. One was hit in the arm, another in a thigh and the third in a shoulder. The officers were taken to a hospital for treatment, and all three were conscious and alert, police said. Sarah Dozier, identified as a niece of the woman, told WAGA-TV that there were never any drugs at the house. "My aunt was in good health. I'm sure she panicked when they kicked that door down," Dozier said. "There was no reason they had to go in there and shoot her down like a dog." Rev. Markel Hutchins, a civil rights leader, said Johnston's family deserves an apology. "Of the police brutality cases we've had, this is the most egregious because of the woman's age," Hutchins said. Hutchins said he would try to meet with Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington and would also meet with lawyers.

2 hours, 3 minutes ago AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A plan to roll and smoke the world's largest joint was cancelled at short notice in Amsterdam when the organizers realized they could be breaking the law. "We have now read the small print and realize there could be problems," Thijs Verheij, one of the organizers, was quoted as saying by ANP news agency after consulting Dutch drugs laws. The group had wanted to roll a five-foot-long pure-weed joint, stuffed with more than a pound of marijuana and containing no tobacco, and smoke it in a bar. It had initially thought the attempt would be legal if 100 people each brought along the five grams of the drug tolerated by Dutch authorities for personal use. "Unfortunately it looks like this will not be possible," Verheij said. The attempt had been planned for Wednesday. A police spokesman said: "We would definitely have investigated this. If you make a single joint with half a kilo of cannabis in it, it would cross the line." Verheij said the group had hoped to beat a record set with a joint containing 100 grams of marijuana.

Tue Nov 21, 8:54 PM ET PHILADELPHIA - A man who mailed a bomb to a doctor because he was angry about how his penis enlargement surgery turned out was sentenced Tuesday to four years and 10 months in prison. Blake Steidler, 25, of Reamstown, put the bomb in the mail on Feb. 11, 2005, in North Bloomfield, Ohio, addressed to the doctor in Chicago. After returning home, he called 911 and told police what he had done. The bomb was retrieved from the mail and destroyed; no one was injured. Steidler pleaded guilty in April to use of a weapon of mass destruction and other charges. Defense lawyer Luis A. Ortiz said at the time of the plea that his client was mentally ill. In addition to the prison term, Steidler was sentenced to five years supervised release, and a $2,000 fine.

Tue Nov 21, 10:14 PM ET WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Now comes another reason to stay put in the La-Z-Boy: A man sitting in his easy chair was shot in the head by his wife, but the sturdy recliner absorbed most of the bullet's force and left him virtually unscathed. The couple had been arguing at home on Sunday evening, said Contra Costa County sheriff's Lt. Charles Skuce. Then Jan Kamp stood behind her seated husband and fired a gun at the back of his head, Skuce said. Because she fired through the recliner, the bullet only slightly wounded Norman Kamp, 57, Skuce said. Norman stood up from his chair, followed his wife into the kitchen and declared, "You shot me," according to authorities. Jan Kamp fired a second shot at her husband, but missed, Skuce said. He retreated to a neighbor's house in the unincorporated Pacheco area of the county, where he called 911. After talking to deputies, Norman Kamp was treated at a hospital and released. Jan Kamp, 58, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and booked at County Jail in Martinez.

Tue Nov 21, 12:31 PM ET THE HAGUE (AFP) - Insouciant of police warnings, a Dutch group is reportedly set to roll the world's biggest joint, sending the previous record for a marijuana cigarette up in smoke. The world's largest joint will be a 500-gram (17-ounce), meter-long (3.3-foot) monstrosity, rolled with cigarette paper and easily dwarfing the previous 100-gram winner, the ANP news agency said. To beat the record, it must be made entirely of marijuana with no tobacco mix. "Afterwards we'll light it up," predicted event organizer Thijs Verheij, who is hoping his feat will land in the Guinness Book of Records. The Dutch police are not amused however, warning they will intervene if the joint surpasses the five grams of marijuana allowed for consumption and sale in the Netherlands.

Tue Nov 21, 9:54 PM ET LYNCHBURG, Va. - A man who dresses up as a giant cigarette and uses hip-hop music to encourage children in Lynchburg and beyond to avoid smoking pleaded guilty Tuesday to bigamy. Phillip Dale Williams, 37, had as many as four wives at the same time, Chuck Felmlee, deputy commonwealth's attorney, said. Williams' fourth wife, Lashawn Stevenson, became suspicious earlier this year when her husband began receiving child support notices in the mail. When the couple wed in 2003, he told her he had never been married, Felmlee said. Stevenson's investigation led her to a Vallejo, Calif., woman, Antoinette Borum, who told Stevenson Williams left her in 2002 with two children and no child support. When Stevenson confronted Williams, he told her he had married Borum and two other women before her, Felmlee said. Williams told police he divorced the first wife, but not the second or Borum. Police haven't been able to contact the first two wives, Felmlee said. Williams' attorney, Tom Current, declined to comment on the case. Williams was known locally for playing "Douglas 'Dude' Cigarette," a character he created in 1996. He has performed in about a dozen states. Williams faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced March 9.