Odd Stories

By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER, Associated Press WESTLAND, Mich. — A steady downpour made this one of the muddiest Mud Days yet. Rain before and during the 27th annual event Tuesday in suburban Detroit that’s open to kids 12 and younger created conditions that were conducive for maximum filthiness. Aidan Ruggiero, who quickly got covered from head to toe in muck, wasn’t …

PHOENIX — Phoenix firefighters have rescued a man who became stuck after trying to re-enter a house through the chimney. Fire Capt. Aaron Ernsberger says it took 30 minutes Sunday morning for firefighters to free the 23-year-old man. He was taken to a hospital in stable condition. Ernsberger says the man’s friends locked him out of the house as a …

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. — A large wave washed out the Fourth of July fireworks show in a Jersey shore community. Seaside Heights officials say a wave ran so far up the shore on Saturday night that it soaked all the fireworks set up on the beach. Town officials say the fireworks were set up closer to the surf than usual …

By JULIE WALKER, Associated Press NEW YORK — Matt Stonie shocked the competitive eating world Saturday by upsetting Joey “Jaws” Chestnut at the Fourth of July hot dog eating contest at Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island, breaking Chestnut’s bid for a ninth straight victory. Stonie, 23, who finished second last year, downed 62 hot dogs and buns, beating Chestnut by …

More on this SAN DIEGO — Jeanette and Alexander Toczko were each 8 years old when they became smitten with one another. They married in 1940 and were rarely apart in the decades since. They told their children they wished to die in each other’s arms. And last month at their home in San Diego, just days before their 75th …

PROVO, Utah — The pig couldn’t fly, the cowboy got away, and the pilot’s OK. So it went Thursday at an Independence Day festival in Utah, where officials said a pig-shaped hot-air balloon descended quickly to the ground after hitting a Wyoming cowboy-themed entry. Paul Warner, a festival executive, said the licensed pilot of the fallen balloon suffered minor burns …

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — A Philadelphia man robbed a New Jersey bank four months after he was released from prison for robbing the same place five years earlier, prosecutors said. Authorities said 54-year-old Keith Ney entered the Cape Bank in Atlantic City on April 23 and gave a teller a note that said he had a gun. Prosecutors said he …

By The Associated Press Tuesday lasts a wee bit longer — by a second. International timekeepers are tacking a second to the clock to compensate for a slightly slower Earth rotation. While a leap second is hardly enough time to change daily life, it has been known to affect some computer systems in the past. There have been calls to …

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — A man in southwestern Connecticut who mistakenly bought the wrong lottery ticket is $30,000 wealthier. Bob Sabo, of Easton, says he didn’t want to wait in line to buy a lottery ticket at the Super Stop & Shop in Fairfield, so he decided to buy a ticket from a lottery vending machine — something he had previously …

KELSO, Wash. — High school graduates in Kelso, Washington, discovered an error when they received their diplomas during Saturday’s graduation ceremony. The covers protecting the diplomas carried the state seal of Oregon. Kelso High School is in southwest Washington. KPTV-TV in Portland, Oregon, reports (http://is.gd/djlSOh ) that the diplomas did list the correct high school. Kelso superintendent Glenn Gelbrich says …