Steer too beefy to become burgers reprieved to life on farm
Lake Preston, Australia (AP) – Knickers the steer is huge on the internet – for being huge. The black-and-white Holstein Friesian won social media fame and many proclamations of “Holy Cow!” after photos surfaced of the 194-centimeter (6-foot-4-inch) steer standing head and shoulders above a herd of brown wagyu cattle in Western Australia state. Owner Geoff Pearson said Knickers was too heavy to go to the slaughterhouse. “We have a high turnover of cattle, and he was lucky enough to stay behind,” Pearson said. Australian media say Knickers is believed to be the tallest steer in the country and weighs about 1.4 tons. Instead of becoming steaks and burgers, 7-year-old Knickers will get to live out his life in Pearson’s fields in Lake Preston, southwest of Perth.
Stranger returns lost wallet and adds extra cash
Brandon, S.D. (AP) – A South Dakota man has his lost wallet back with some extra cash thanks to a stranger. Hunter Shamatt thought he’d never seen the wallet again when he lost it on a flight to Las Vegas for his sister’s wedding. Inside was $60 cash and a check for about $400. Shamatt tells KSFY-TV he received a package a few days later along with the wallet and a letter. The stranger wrote he found the wallet wedged between a seat and a wall on a flight from Omaha, Nebraska, to Denver. He added $40 so Shamatt would have “an even $100” to celebrate the wallet’s return. The stranger only signed the letter with initials. Shamatt was able to thank the man after tracking down his return address in Omaha.
Money laundering: Dutch police find cash in washing machine
Amsterdam (AP) – Dutch police who found 350,000 euros ($400,000) hidden inside a washing machine have detained a man on suspicion of – what else? – money laundering. Police said in a statement Thursday that officers were checking a house in western Amsterdam on Monday for unregistered residents when they found the valuable laundry load. A photo displayed on the police website showed bundles of bank notes, mainly 20- and 50-euro bills, crammed into the drum. The officers also found a money-counting machine, a gun and several cell phones. The 24-year-old suspect’s name was not released, in line with Dutch privacy rules.
Iowa council gives final approval to ‘toy’ firearms ban
Sioux City, Iowa (AP) – A city council in northwest Iowa has banned people from carrying some types of “toy” firearms. The Sioux City Council voted Monday for a third time to adopt an ordinance that bans pellet and BB guns. The ordinance doesn’t ban Nerf or squirt guns, or guns that shoot suction-cup darts. Sioux City Police Capt. Mark Kirkpatrick has said officers have had multiple encounters with replica weapons and faced the question of whether to use deadly force. He has said people carrying toy firearms tend to be teenagers or young adults seeking personal protection or street credibility. The Sioux City Police Department says no one in the city has died from a police encounter while carrying a toy firearm, but that there are more than 50 such deaths nationwide each year.
Treasure hunter flip flops on returning missing gold coins
Columbus, Ohio (AP) – A treasure hunter has taken back a pledge to turn over 500 missing coins minted from gold found in a shipwreck off the South Carolina coast. The Columbus Dispatch reports Tommy Thompson agreed last week to deliver the coins to a court-appointed receiver by Sunday to settle a lawsuit brought by an investor. The paper says the deal fell apart Friday when Thompson said he has no idea how to obtain the coins. Thompson found the S.S. Central America in 1988 after convincing more than 100 investors to fund the voyage for nearly $13 million. Thompson never repaid the investors. He became a fugitive and fled to Florida.
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