A pig was rescued by firefighters after it got stuck in a swimming pool yesterday.
Dorset Fire and Rescue Service was called after the animal, called Pigwig, fell in the pool at a home in Avon Castle Drive, Ashley, near Ringwood, Hampshire.
A crew of firefighters was scrambled from Ferndown as well as a specialist animal rescue unit from Poole along with a second fire engine dispatched by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.
New teenage driver hits brick wall
New Jersey police say a teenager who had just received her learner’s permit drove into an apartment building and struck three gas meters after hitting the accelerator instead of the brake.
The 16-year-old was getting a driver’s lesson from her father on Thursday night in Woodbridge when the crash occurred.
Authorities told the Home News Tribune that she stepped on the wrong pedal and crashed into the wall of an apartment building. She also hit three gas meters, causing natural gas leaks and leading to the evacuation of 12 apartments.
Court battle over $372m emerald
A Los Angeles judge has ruled a trial can go forward to determine ownership of an emerald weighing 840 pounds that was hauled out of a Brazilian mine more than a decade ago.
The 180,000-carat emerald is at the centre of a court battle between gem traders, miners, real estate tycoons and others vying for the jewel once valued at $372 million.
The latest claim to ownership came from the Brazil government, which wants the gem returned to its country of origin. Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson has ruled that the Brazil motion lacked sufficient evidence to warrant halting the case.
The jewel known as the Bahia Emerald is one of the largest of its kind in the world.
Truck drops bag full of cash
A 75-pound bag tumbled out of a truck driving in front of Dan Kennedy on Interstate 80. When he looked inside, he found stacks of cash.
“I thought it was going to be light. I reached down to grab it, and I couldn't move it,” Kennedy said.
The sack was filled with smaller bags packed with currency including $50 and $100 bills. Kennedy estimated each of the small bags contained $22,000.
Kennedy tried but failed to chase down the Brink’s armoured truck that had lost the bag. He then drove the money to his work parking lot and called the police.
DNA testing to find which dog did it
Frustrated with dog owners who refuse to clean up after their pets, an increasing number of apartments in Seattle are opting to use DNA testing to identify the culprits.
The Seattle Times reported that a company called BioPet Vet Lab from Knoxville, Tennessee, is providing its PooPrints testing kits to 26 apartment and condo complexes and homeowners associations in the region.
BioPet says in the past five years, the DNA test has been used in nearly 1,000 places around the country, and it’s especially popular in Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles and other large cities.
Ice-cream rivals end up in court
A judge has dismissed stalking and harassment charges filed against an ice-cream truck operator who had been accused of trying to run his rival, Ding-A-Ling, out of their small New York town.
Prosecutors in Fulton County said a judge in Gloversville dismissed the charges against Joshua Malatino last week.
Malatino and a co-owner of their Snow Kone Joe ice-cream truck business were charged in April 2013 after the driver of a Ding-a-Ling truck claimed the pair had harassed and stalked him. Officials said Malatino had told the rival operator that he owned the ice-cream business in Gloversville, a city of 15,000 located 40 miles northwest of Albany.