Odd Stories

HERMITAGE, Pa. — Police say the driver of a milk tanker truck was choking on a soft drink when he drove off a Pennsylvania highway and crashed into 23 new cars on a dealership lot. Police in Hermitage say the driver choked on Dr Pepper on Sunday and drove the truck nearly 600 feet through a grassy area before smashing …

LAUREL, Del. — Authorities say a burglar who broke into a middle school got stuck on an elevator and was forced to call 911 for help. Local media outlets report that police say 19-year-old Michael Claude of Laurel broke into the school Monday. Officials say he was riding down the hallways on a buffing machine before he got on the …

ARVADA, Colo. — The Arvada, Colorado, Police Department has posted a photo on its Facebook account of a woman who came into the station just so she could hug an officer. KMGH-TV (http://bit.ly/1IW0jyF) reports the woman told police on Monday she was upset about the deaths of law enforcement members nationwide. She hugged 20-year veteran Officer Chris Steiner, who says …

HICKORY, N.C. — Police say a man wearing a clown costume swung an ax at a woman, but she wasn’t hit. Authorities say the man came to the woman’s house about 4:30 a.m. Friday wearing a clown mask and a multicolored wig. Authorities told the Hickory Daily News (http://bit.ly/1f44Fwe ) that the man didn’t hurt the woman, and she was …

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. — A Benedictine monk who works at a private Rhode Island school has discovered that finding solitude is no easy feat, even 175 feet in the air. Brother Joseph Byron was recently relaxing atop the Portsmouth Abbey School’s wind turbine — as he often does — when a drone zoomed in. Video taken by the drone, owned by …

STILLWATER, N.Y. — Police say an upstate New York man had his 10-year-old drive his pickup truck while he was sitting in the passenger seat drunk. The Times Union of Albany reports (http://bit.ly/1JblRYo ) police in the Saratoga County town of Stillwater were contacted by a motorist on Saturday who saw the child driving the truck on Route 9P. Police …

PITTSBURGH — Two ninja-clad teens armed with a machete and expecting an easy robbery at a Pittsburgh convenience store got quite a shock when a cashier pulled out a sword and started chasing them. Surveillance video shows the teens entering Perry Market on Friday night. One goes behind the counter with his machete and demands money. But cashier Jewad Hayih …

More on this POULTNEY, Vt. — A college student in Vermont is living in a 96-square-foot house he built to reduce his carbon footprint — and save money. The Rutland Herald reports (http://bit.ly/1MwOCWq ) that Green Mountain College senior Rob Dunn has been living in the two-story Poultney home since August 2014. The home is powered by two 100-watt solar …

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI, Associated Press BOISE, Idaho — If you’re looking for milepost 420, you won’t find it in Idaho. Idaho transportation officials say the mile marker has been replaced with 419.9 signs to curb thieves eager to own a number associated with marijuana enthusiasts. Turns out, Idaho isn’t alone in this problem. States like Washington and Colorado have also …

NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says women posing nearly naked for photos in Times Square are breaking the law and undermining efforts to keep the tourist area family friendly. Cuomo said Wednesday on NY1 that the situation is beginning to remind him of the seedy days of the “bad old Times Square.” The women pose for photos …