“An Old Saybrook woman is out on bond after police say she locked her son in a dog crate at night. Court papers outline the problems Kathlyn Anthony had been having with her young son, and her inability to control some of his behaviors, but police say putting the little boy in a dog crate was no way to deal with him. 54-year-old Kathlyn Anthony is accused of putting her son in a dog crate. In court papers she calls it a “sleep locker” or cubby. Other parents call it criminal. “I just can’t even imagine treating a child like an animal it’s horrible,” parent Heather Roberts said. The arrest warrant describes the boy’s bed wetting problems. Anthony told police he “…unirinated and defacated into the mattress to a point that it was no longer usable…” She believes he was “…doing this on purpose.” The Old Saybrook mother did seek help, but couldn’t change his behavior. “I hope she gets help for herself, and her child recovers,” Roberts said. The crate, which is 36-inches by 22, and 30-inches high, is similar in size to one we put together. The boy who was born in 2004, and adopted by Anthony three years later, reportedly slept in the crate for 1-2 weeks at times in the basement.” w/ photos + video

“Women’s rights activists in Ukraine did not think a ‘win a wife’ competition run by a New Zealand radio station was the breast idea in the world, so they went topless to vent their anger. As we reported recently, radio station The Rock FM gave listeners the chance to win a 12-night holiday in the Ukraine with spending money – and a wife from a bride agency. The competition closed on February 28 and earlier this week a group of women from campaign group Femen – which opposes sex tours in Ukraine – stripped off to express their outrage. Their logic, to some, might seem suspect, since if there’s one thing likely to boost the sex-tourism industry in Ukraine – it’s snaps of topless ladies, in Ukraine. Braving bitterly cold weather, the nine women stood outside Kiev’s central marriage registration facility waving banners that read ‘Ukraine is not a brothel’ and ‘bride for wildman’. Defending the station, The Rock FM program director, Brad King, told the New Zealand Press Association the competition was ‘a bit of a laugh’. The action by Femen is the latest in a spate of protests that involved baring the flesh.” w/ photos

“A 13,000-calorie whopper is battling for the title of Britain’s biggest burger – and for those who can stomach it a $277 prize awaits. At around 12 inches in diameter and containing a staggering 40 slices of cheese, the Over De Flames Burger poses a gut-busting challenge for even the hungriest of customers. Equivalent to more than 26 quarter-pounders, the burger comes in at an estimated 13,464 calories – nearly a week’s recommended intake for the average man. The monolithic meat feast contains three kilos of beef, dwarfing its competitors in the race to be named Britain’s biggest – and most calorific – burger. The brainchild of restaurateur Sudeep De, the burger is only available at the Over De Flames eaterie in Norwich. Normally, the whole meal costs $41 but is free to anyone who manages to finish the lot in a two-hour period.” w/ photo

“Farting and burping cows may have been blamed for global warming, but they also provide an unmistakable countryside aroma that is now being canned and sold over the internet. Tins filled with the air sucked out of an aging wooden stable, straw lined and filled with gas producing cattle has become an instant hit after it went on sale in Germany. Managers of the “Countryside Air To Go” project say their clients are mainly country people who have moved to the city and want to be reminded of home. The cans cost 5 GBP a time and can be ordered from the web site www.stallduft.de (Barnyyard Air). “Simply put your nose to the tin and peel back the lid for the authentic smell of the country”, one advert for the service boasts. Designer Daniela Dorrer from the village of Adlkofen in Bavaria, Germany, said: “We hope to make people who miss the countryside happy and remind them of home.” w/ photo

“A man told an Ocala police officer he wanted to do something nice for his girlfriend, who will be released from jail later this month, so he stole two brassieres from Walmart. Johnnie L. Brown, 29, was arrested shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday and charged with retail petit theft. “She has done so much for me,” Brown said later of the woman who has been his girlfriend for three years, “and I felt I had to support her.” On Tuesday, a Walmart loss prevention employee noticed a suspicious person in a motorized wheelchair in the infant section, according to a police report. He saw Brown — who said later that one of his feet has been amputated — enter the women’s section and pick up two brassieres. He then went to another section, where police say he stuffed the items into his pants. The bras were valued at $7 and $13. One was red and the other zebra-striped. Brown went to the self checkout area and paid for some items, but not the brassieres, and then left the store. He was detained by store officials, who called police.” w/ photo

“It began as a typical work day for Todd Griffith at Matern Professional Engineering, Inc. in south Fort Myers when his morning took a turn towards the bizarre. Griffith, a mechanical engineer, was sitting in a conference room working at a computer before a 9 a.m. meeting when a large duck smashed through an outside window and ended up in the seat next to him. “I head a loud boom, and I looked to my left and there was a duck sitting next to me,” he said. “It looked at me like what are you doing here.” The duck then jumped onto a table and began walking around the conference room for the next few minutes as Griffith watched in amazement. “I didn’t know what to do,” he said. Employees at the firm were eventually able to corral the duck and get it out of the building via a sliding glass door. They cleaned up the broken glass and feathers and had their scheduled meeting, minus the uninvited guest and a window.” w/ video

“A spider that likes the smell of gasoline so much it chooses to build its webs in car emission systems was behind the recall of thousands of Mazda cars in the United States. Mazda Motor Corp said on Thursday it was recalling 52,000 cars after the National Highway Safety Commission said the spider webs may restrict a vent line, which could cause the emissions control system to increase pressure in the fuel tank. The build-up of webs in the emission systems could lead to fuel tank cracks and possible leaks. The culprit is the Yellow Sac spider, which makes the Mazda6 model of Mazda cars its home because it is lured inside by the smell of the fuel. “While it’s very rare, this spider’s distinguishing characteristic is that it likes the smell of gasoline, caused by the hydrogen oxide,” said Mitsuhiro Kunisawa, an automotive journalist. “Once it smells the gasoline from outside, it will go inside. In the United States, it’s a relatively common type of spider.” w/ photo

“Dog owners in the US may be forced to restrain their pets with a seatbelt while driving if a law by Tennessee Representative Jim Cobb is passed… It may sound barking to some, but the lawmaker is concerned that dogs that roam around inside moving cars or sit on the lap of the driver are a dangerous distraction. His bill, which was passed through the Tennessee transport sub-committee on Tuesday, will require hounds to be ‘secured in a harness or vehicle seat, confined in a box, or hard or soft sided travel crate, or held by a person in a front or back passenger seat’. A spokesman for Mr Cobb told MailOnline: ‘He said you’re meant to not have an animal in the driver’s lap. ‘It’s meant to make sure they don’t have it in the lap as it can impair your driving ability.’ Meanwhile, the AA’s Head of Road Safety, Andrew Howard, also backs the restraining of dogs in cars.” w/ photo

“They’re more flying rats than desert rats but it has emerged China’s army is training 10,000 messenger pigeons to serve in the event of a breakdown in mass communication systems. China Central Television (CCTV) announced that the mass feathered recruitment drive was being undertaken by the People’s Liberation Army. Training for the flock is believed to be under way in a central Chinese city. The bird army could be called to arms in the event of a mass breakdown in communication systems, helping to deliver vital messages. The winged soldiers will also be dispatched on military missions between border forces. CCTV’s air force expert Chen Hong said: ‘In modern warfare, the pigeon is indispensable.’ Chen Chuntao, the officer in charge of the pigeon force, stated that the birds were the ‘most practical and effective short and medium distance tool for communications if there is electromagnetic interference or a collapse in our signals.” w/ photos

“A semiofficial Iranian news agency says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s 34-year-old car has been sold for nearly $2.5 million at an auction to raise money for a low-income housing project. ISNA’s report Tuesday doesn’t identify the buyer, but quotes the individual’s lawyer, Mamoud Isari, as saying the buyer plans to build a museum and exhibit the car. The 1977 white Peugeot sedan was put up for auction in January in a move by the president to appear to fulfill a campaign promise to put a roof over the head of every Iranian. Ahmadinejad made a point of being seen in the sedan when he was Tehran mayor. He has rarely used the car since becoming president in 2005.” w/ photos