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Clowning around doesn't work for would-be Calif. bank robber
A would-be robber -- wearing clown makeup and carrying a purse -- tried to hold up a Riverside credit union this week but left empty handed.
"I guess they didn't take the clown seriously," said police Sgt. Skip Showalter.
The brief one-man circus performed at 5:11 p.m. Wednesday at Altura Credit Union along the 3400 block of Fourteenth Street.
China's one-dog policy spawns plots to hide extra pups
GUANGZHOU, China - For decades, China's citizens have lived with the controversial one-child regime imposed on them by the government. Now, pet lovers in this southern factory city are frothing over the latest official intrusion into their lives: a one-dog policy.
Controversial herb may have medicinal benefits
WASHINGTON - Purple blossoms of midnight salvia and stems of blue chiquita salvia adorn the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden at the White House and thousands of other back yards.
What states are doing about salvia
State legislation on salvia
Illegal:
Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Virginia
Distribution Regulations:
California, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina and Tennessee
Santas worry about H1N1 flu
The thought of kids with runny noses sitting in Santa's lap sharing their deepest desires and germs this holiday season isn't eliciting the usual "Ho, ho, ho." It's more of an "Oh, no, no."
As in, "Oh no, don't give Santa swine flu."
Mojave Desert tortoises dwindling despite years of protection
Desert tortoise populations in the Mojave Desert continue to decline, despite years of study and protection since the reptile was designated a threatened species in 1990, experts say.
Researchers say observations support a gloomy view of the animals' status.
Pitbulls found in Missouri being rehabilitated
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Animal shelters across the nation are overloaded with pit bulls, muscular terriers with a reputation for violence and fighting.
Media reports on pit bull maulings are commonplace.
Police investigate nasty video on YouTube
A YouTube video of eight young men terrorizing bicyclists and pedestrians -- including children and older people -- in what appear to be the twin Minnesota cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul has triggered a police investigation.
Stimulus money helps clear abandoned fishing nets off Wash. coast
BREMERTON, Wash. - An old gill net covers the seafloor like a blanket. Small forage fish swim through its holes untouched -- but a baby seal is not so lucky. When Jim Norberg and Jake Johnston dive down from the Twila Dawn to recover the lost net, they find the seal, dead.
Federal investigators use PlayStation 3 to combat child porn
WASHINGTON - For most PlayStation 3 users, the criminals they catch and the victims they save are just pixilated simulations on a TV screen.
But some federal officers are using the gaming console to protect children and catch predators in real life.
