■UNITED STATES
Is that a ferret in your pants?
Police say a homeless man stole a live ferret by stuffing it in his pants. Rodney Bolton, 38, is charged with theft over the US$129 animal that police say he took from a pet store in Jacksonville Beach, the Florida Times-Union reported. A 17-year-old witness confronted Bolton in the parking lot and was bitten by the animal after the man allegedly shoved it in the teen’s face. That confrontation makes the ferret a “special weapon” under Florida law. So Bolton also faces battery charges for dangerously wielding the animal.
■BRAZIL
Military plane disappears
A military plane with 11 people on board disappeared on Thursday as it flew over the Amazon, the air force said. The C-98 Caravan transport plane was flying from Cruzeiro do Sul, in northern Acre state, to Tabatinga in Amazonas when it issued an emergency distress call 58 minutes after takeoff and then lost radio contact, the Brazilian Air Force said.
■UNITED STATES
‘Wee for Wii’ case closes
The family of a woman who died after taking part in a radio station water-drinking contest to win a Nintendo Wii was awarded more than US$16.5 million by a jury in California on Thursday. Jennifer Strange was 28 when she died in 2007 after participating in the “Hold Your Wee For a Wii” contest run by KDND-FM. The contest promised the popular Nintendo video game to the person who could drink the most water without urinating or vomiting. An autopsy determined that Strange died of water intoxication.
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