■UNITED STATES
Cops give roses for guns
Police in South Carolina gave away roses on Valentine’s Day. All you had to do to get one was turn in a gun. Hoping to get weapons off the streets with the “Guns for Roses” program, authorities in two central South Carolina cities set up a program where anyone who turned in a gun received a free rose and a gift card for an electronics chain store. At a Columbia church, five cars lined up to give away guns before the exchange had even started. At the end of the day, Columbia area police had collected 191 weapons and police in Sumter collected 32. A handgun was worth a US$100 gift card, while a rifle or shotgun netted a US$50 gift certificate. One man turned in six handguns, worth US$600 in gift cards, Richland County sheriff’s spokesman Lieutenant Chris Cowan said. Cowan did not immediately have a total value for gift cards given out. Sumter Police Chief Patty Patterson said her program gave out US$550 in gift cards for long guns and US$2,100 for handguns. There was no amnesty for those turning in the guns. The weapons were being checked to see if they were stolen, names and addresses were jotted down and ballistics tests would also be done to see if the firearm was used in a crime.
■UNITED STATES
Thieves steal 400 roses
There’s a little less romance for Valentine’s Day in Louisville, Ohio. Thieves made off with the entire inventory of roses at Catherine Elkins’ florist shop. Elkins says the criminals broke into her Cottage Floral & Gifts shop early on Friday and stole all 400 roses. They also took vases and decorations. And she can’t even fill online orders because they also ran off with her computer. Elkins says Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day are the two biggest holidays of the year for her business.
■UNITED STATES
Man moves getaway car
A man in Washington state made sure a pair of burglars did not get away with his three flat-screen TVs — he moved their getaway car. Patrick Rosario was in the basement of his Bellevue home on Tuesday when he heard the burglars upstairs. The Seattle Times said the 32-year-old Rosario, who had been laid off from his job as a Washington Mutual bank manager, called police while he sneaked out of the house. He saw a white van sitting in front of his house with the motor running and the keys in the ignition and he got in and drove it to a friend’s house. Police say the burglars left the TVs, a laptop and a jewelry box by the door and took off on foot. The sheriff’s office said no arrests had been made.
■UNITED STATES
Boar-croc unveiled for kids
Imagine meeting a crocodile with huge tusks like those of a wild boar. Paleontologist Paul Sereno did meet one, or at least the remains of the ancient creature, and he gave a crowd of excited youngsters in Chicago a first public glimpse on Saturday. Sereno calls it the boar-croc for its looks, since he hasn’t yet published an article on it with a scientific name in the official literature. The University of Chicago researcher found the skull in the Sahara Desert, which many thousands of years ago was moist and supported all sorts of animals. The boar-croc doesn’t fit in any known order. It has a crocodile-like snout, but adds horns and three sets of canine teeth like those of a wild pig adapted for eating meat, he said. So why does a paleontologist trot out his latest find before an official publication? Saturday was family day at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Sereno wanted to interest youngsters in his line of work.
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