NEWS QUIRKS

Curses, foiled again When Walter Allen Jr. bought two Bentleys from a Houston car dealership for $458,000, he paid by signing over a $500,000 check issued by the Federal Reserve Bank. Managers at the dealership became suspicious because the Federal Reserve Bank usually uses wire transfers, not checks. They asked Allen to return later to pick up his cars, then alerted police, who confirmed the check was a fake and were waiting for Allen when he returned. (Houston Chronicle)

Back to paper-or-plastic Officials for Publix, a supermarket chain in the Southeast, said they would ask suppliers of their reusable grocery bags to lower the lead content after The Tampa Tribune found elevated levels of the toxin in bags it tested. The Florida newspaper reported that some of the bags had enough lead that they would be considered hazardous waste if residents put them in their household trash. (The Tampa Tribune)

Taking the plunge When a tractor-trailer caught fire after pulling over at a bridge on Interstate 65 in Hoover, Ala., the driver of a vehicle going the other way stopped to check on the truck driver. The Good Samaritan jumped over a retaining wall but fell to his death. Police Capt. Jim Coker pointed out that a paramedic died at least 20 years before in the same spot when he leaped over the retaining wall to check on an accident victim and fell to his death. (The Birmingham News)

Above suspicion The Baltimore City Health Department issued its first environmental citation for repeat violation of the city’s trans fat ban. The offender was a restaurant named Healthy Choice. (WBAL-TV)

Hug those trees Crime occurs less in neighborhoods with big trees and more at homes with small ones, according to a U.S. Forest Service study using crime data from Portland, Ore. Forester Geoffrey Donovan explained that large trees might signal to crooks that a neighborhood is well cared for, making it more likely that criminals will be caught, whereas small trees can provide hiding places for criminals and obstruct their illicit activities. (Associated Press)

Right under their noses Deputies investigating a possible break-in at a museum in Hillsboro, Ore., stumbled on their suspect when a search dog followed the scent from a large hole in the wall of the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals for about half a mile and became “very interested in a particular piece of ground,” Washington County sheriff’s Sgt. Gregory Thompson said. “The dog then bit the ground that in turn cried out in pain.” The dog’s handler realized Gregory Liascos, 36, was hiding at his feet, dressed head to toe in a moss-like camouflage outfit, known as a ghillie suit. (Associated Press)

Compiled from the nation’s press by Roland Sweet. Authentication on demand.