Odds and Ends – Friday July 13, 2018 – July 19, 2018

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(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Zsa Zsa, the English bulldog, wins World’s Ugliest Dog title

Petaluma, Calif. (AP) – A 9-year-old English bulldog was named the winner of the 2018 World’s Ugliest Dog contest in the San Francisco Bay Area. Zsa Zsa won the title Saturday night at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma. The dog’s owner Megan Brainard of Anoka, Minnesota, will receive $1,500 for Zsa Zsa’s win. Brainard found Zsa Zsa on a pet-finding site, according to the contest bio. Dogs in the annual competition flaunt their imperfections – some have hairless bodies, others have lolling tongues. The dogs and their handlers walk down a red carpet. The dogs are evaluated by a panel of judges. The contestants included a blackhead-covered Chinese Crested-Dachshund mutt, a bulldog mix with excess wrinkly skin and a Pekingese named Wild Thang. Last year’s winner was a 125-pound (57-kilogram) gentle giant named Martha – a Neopolitan Mastiff with gas and a droopy face. The contest is in its 30th year. It is usually held on Friday nights, but organizers moved the competition to Saturday in an effort to draw a bigger audience.

Bank robbery suspect gives ID,
easily tracked by police

Columbus, Ohio (AP) – Police say a quick-thinking bank teller in Ohio convinced a suspected robber to hand over his own license. Authorities say the man walked into a Huntington Bank in Columbus on June 4 and gave the teller a note saying he was armed and demanding money. The teller gave the man a stack of cash, but then he demanded more money from the electronic cash recycle machine in the bank’s lobby. Police say the teller told the man the machine needed a driver’s license to dispense cash, so the man handed his own license over. The license led police to the 51-year-old man who was arrested June 15 and charged with aggravated robbery and threatening with a deadly weapon.

Indiana police say they seized
‘Trump-shaped ecstasy pills’

Peru, Ind. (AP) – Some drug traffickers appear to be using President Donald Trump’s image to brand their illegal wares. An Indiana State Police news release about 129 arrests in a series of drug busts in northern Indiana includes a photo of what police describe as “Trump-shaped ecstasy pills.” They are orange and stamped with a face. On the back are the words “great again,” an apparent reference to Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.” Traffickers sometimes produce uniquely shaped or colored drugs as a marketing technique to encourage buyers to return for more. Friday’s release doesn’t provide details, including how many of the pills were seized. The six-day operation in June involved traffic stops by state and city police, as well as sheriff’s departments. LSD, cocaine and other drugs were also seized.

Person, ‘feeling guilty,’ pays 44-year-old parking ticket

Minersville, Pa. (AP) – A person has cleared their conscience by paying a 44-year-old parking ticket. The Minersville, Pennsylvania, Police Department received a letter last week with $5 and a note inside. The return address was “Feeling guilty, Wayward Road, Anytown, Ca.” Police Chief Michael Combs tells WNEP-TV the note said, “Dear PD, I’ve been carrying this ticket around for 40 plus years. Always intending to pay. Forgive me if I don’t give you my info. With respect, Dave.” The fine for the 1974 parking ticket in the eastern Pennsylvania town was $2. But the person added $3 for interest. The same ticket today would be $20. Combs says the ticket was for a car with Ohio license plates, but the department did not have the technology to track out-of-state vehicles.