In February, the trade group Mortgage Bankers Association—which has been critical of homeowners struggling to make payments on bad real-estate investments—announced the sale of its Washington, D.C., headquarters for $41 million. The association had purchased the building in 2007, at the peak...

Pastor John Renken's Xtreme Ministries, located in Clarksville, Tenn., is one of a reportedly growing number of churches that use "mixed martial arts" to recruit wayward young men to the Christian gospel. Typically, after leading his flock in solemn prayer to a loving god, Pastor Renken adjourns the session to the backroom

Last April, Guido Boldini and his mother Constance Boldini pleaded guilty to soliciting a hit man to kill Guido's ex-girlfriend, Michelle Hudon, after a contentious child-custody battle in Keene, N.H. The "hit man" was, of course, an undercover cop, and the son and mother are now serving a combined 12 to 35 years in prison.

In January, the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a long-anticipated report detailing ways the FBI cut corners in obtaining individual Americans’ phone records during the years of the Bush administration. Federal law permits the acquisition of those phone records only with a "terrorism" subpoena ("National Security Letter") unless the FBI documents emergency ("exigent") circumstances to a telecom company. Emergency circumstances...

Some Japanese citizens have become obsessed with Love Plus, a Nintendo DS dating simulation that presents them with a young, attractive, mouthy, digital "girlfriend" who begs for attention. The touch-screen lover demands to hold hands, kiss and have sweet nothings whispered in her ear. How can men so easily become addicted to such...

In December 2009, the New York Post reported on the 175-square-foot Manhattan apartment recently purchased by Christopher Prokop and his wife for $150,000, with $700 monthly maintenance fees. But residents of even smaller Manhattan digs told the Post they were unimpressed. For instance, Felice Cohen, 39, rents a 90-square-foot apartment ($700) with a loft bed, and said that she must sit sideways on the toilet...

(1) In December, Daniel Gable, 61, was arrested for breaking and entering a neighbor's apartment in Fargo, N.D. Gable allegedly triggered the resident's "burglar alarm," which consists of a stack of empty beer cans the resident places just inside his front door every night. (2) In Morehead, Ky., in December, two men, ages 44 and 18, were charged with theft for allegedly swiping...

In December, a prominent online game player who goes by the name of Buzz Erik Lightyear won an auction for the ownership of a virtual space station in a game called Planet Calypso. Lightyear paid 3.3 million Project Entropia Dollars (PEDs), which at various points entered the game’s economy at an actual out-of-pocket cost...

A Family Affair In November, a man identified by China's Chongqing Evening News as Mr. Zhang, 32, admitted he is competitive with his wife and "never wants to lose an argument." That comb

Natives of the Erromango section of Vanuatu, an island nation in the Pacific, recently held a formal "reconciliation ceremony" with the great-great-grandson of a British missionary. When the missionary, Rev. John Williams—regarded as one of the most famous Christian missionaries of the era—came ashore in 1839, islanders killed and ate him. Vanuatan legislator Ralph Regenvanu told BBC News that cannibalism was traditionally...

According to police, bandanna-clad Jason Zacchi, 27, was arrested in Dearborn Heights, Mich., in November after pointing a shotgun at a Wendy’s employee at the drive-in window and demanding money. Moments later, the shift manager angrily approached the window and yelled at Zacchi, “What the hell are you doing?” The manager recognized Zacchi through his bandanna—Zacchi is her son...

A 55-year-old British man whose bowel was ruptured in a nearly catastrophic traffic accident has been fitted with a bionic sphincter that opens and closes with a remote control. Ged Galvin, who originally endured a dozen surgeries in a 13-week hospital stay, had grown frustrated with using a colostomy bag. That’s when surgeon Norman Williams of the Royal London Hospital...

In July, motorist Charles Diez spotted a bicyclist and 3-year-old boy (also on the bike in a seat outfitted for children) out for a ride on a busy street in Asheville, N.C. Diez pulled over and confronted the cyclist about the dangers of riding his bike with a child during times of high traffic. When the cyclist started to walk away, Diez pulled a gun and shot at the man. A bullet...

Applicants to top colleges and graduate schools often take test-preparation courses from private companies. Recently, those hoping to gain admission to prestigious private high schools and grade schools have also gone the route of corporate course prep. Now, according to a November New York Times report, such courses and private coaching are increasingly important for...

In October, Poland’s Polskie Radio reported an end to the 18-month legal battle between two neighbors in Mikowice over a plastic bucket worth about $4.50. One neighbor accused the other of ruining the bucket by kicking it, and wanted compensation for the bucket. The respondent offered proof of innocence by submitting video of the neighbor continuing...

In Ogden, Utah, in October, Adam Manning, 30, accompanied his pregnant girlfriend to the McKay-Dee Hospital emergency room as she was going into labor. According to witnesses, as a nurse attended to the woman, Manning began flirting with her, complimenting the nurse’s looks and attempting to give her a neck rub. When Manning allegedly groped...

“Ultrarunning,” a sport that features marathons of 50 miles, 100 miles or even longer, takes such a degree of commitment that an estimated 5% to 10% of participants have permanently removed their toenails in order to eliminate one of the potential sources of discomfort during a race. A sports podiatrist told The New York Times in October...

Though the Phoenix area, like most places in the country, has been hit by the recession, surprisingly the down economy has largely spared one "profession": psychics. An October Arizona Republic report found that while longtime clients were often reducing their use of astrology and related fields, that lost business was being replaced by...

As a promotion for Charmin bath tissue, Procter & Gamble announced in October that it would once again create and host a public restroom for the holiday season in New York City’s Times Square. Last year’s installation included specially outfitted toilet facilities, but this year Proctor & Gamble will upgrade the event by hiring five...

Zach Schultz of Denver recently put his health at risk by smoking—but this time, it cost him his car. Schultz tossed a lit cigarette out the window of his car while driving down Colorado Boulevard in July, but the cigarette blew back into the car and...

Canadian Mischief In September, in Regina, Saskatchewan, David McKay, 28, finally pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice after initially lying to police officers who were trying to serve a warrant

Dozens of people live in flood tunnels beneath luxury hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, according to a September dispatch for London’s The Sun. Some of them search for leftover change in casino slot machines, while others work odd jobs as they become available. The correspondent gained the trust of a...

A commercial lounge in La Paz, Bolivia, is believed to be the world’s only bar to openly serve cocaine. (However, the owners of “Route 36” often have to change locations, with the frequency of moves depending on the moods of bribed authorities.) An August dispatch in London’s The Guardian reported...

A male Swedish college student, Ragnar Bengtsson, 26, has begun pumping his breasts at three-hour intervals in a 90-day experiment to see if he can produce milk. If he succeeds, he said, it could prove “very important for men's...

If zombies ever attacked society, mankind would probably be doomed—and quickly. That was the conclusion of two university researchers in Ottawa, Ontario, who set up mathematical models for hypothetical zombie attacks based on well-known characteristics of zombie biology from...