Trash Titan Wednesday, May 22

Chad Pregracke, 38, a Mississippi River legend, spends nine months a year hauling heavy-duty litter out of waterways with a crew of 12. In March, he told CNN he's yanked up 218 washing machines, 19 tractors, four pianos and nearly 1,000 …

The Tulsa Olympics? Wednesday, May 22

Apparently feeling feisty after a successful stint in February hosting the Bassmaster Classic, local officials in Tulsa, Okla., announced in April they were considering preparing a bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The Winter Games are sometimes …

Ball-toss for a Banana Wednesday, May 22

In April, Henry Gribbohm, 30, admitted he'd blown his $2,600 life savings trying to win an Xbox at a rigged ball-toss game at a Manchester, N.H., carnival, lamenting to WBZ-TV, "For once in my life, I happened to become that sucker." Gribbohm …

School Allows Autistic Student to Cut Wednesday, May 15

The principal and head teacher at a Godalming, England, special-needs school were reported by employees in March for allowing a student with self-harm issues to cut herself, under staff supervision. (Unsted Park School enrolls kids ages 7-19 who …

Unethical Auto Dealer Wednesday, May 15

Last year, according to Chicago's WBBM-TV, Palmen Motors in Kenosha, Wis., sold a brand-new GMC Terrain SUV to an elderly couple, 90 and 89. The husband was legally blind and in hospice care on morphine, and the wife had dementia and could barely …

Who Is That Masked Councilman? Wednesday, May 15

The Oita, Japan, city council refused to seat a recently elected member because he refused to remove the mask he always wears in public. Professional wrestler "Skull Reaper A-ji" said fans wouldn't accept him as authentic if he strayed from …

Politician Blows It Wednesday, May 15

At a Jan. 8 public meeting, Cooper City, Fla., Commissioner Lisa Mallozzi, annoyed with local activist (and former commissioner) Gladys Wilson, told her (according to video and audio of the meeting), "blow me." Wilson, 81, said later she didn't …

Pornographic Pixies Wednesday, May 15

Passive possession of child pornography is not a victimless crime, authorities say, because by definition a child had been abused in the creation of the image, but that reasoning was no relief for New Zealander Ronald Clark, sentenced to three …

Pushy Prisoner Wednesday, May 15

John Leopold, former Anne Arundel County, Md., executive, serving 30 days in jail for illegally forcing his government security detail and another employee to run personal errands, apparently wasted no time in March showing a similar attitude toward …

Guessing Where Gangs Will Grapple Wednesday, May 15

California street gangs stage fights whose locations can be accurately predicted using the same algorithm anthropologists use to predict where lions and hyenas will fight in the wild to protect their territories. A UCLA researcher, using the …