MADRID (Reuters) - A one euro coin has turned up in Spain bearing the face of cartoon couch potato Homer Simpson instead of that of the country’s king, a sweetshop owner told Reuters on Friday.

Jose Martinez was counting the cash in his till in the city of Aviles, northern Spain, when he came across the coin where Homer’s bald head, big eyes and big nose had replaced the serious features of King Juan Carlos.

“The coin must have been done by a professional, the work is impressive,” he told Reuters.

The comical carver had not taken his tools to the other side of the coin displaying the map of Europe. So far, no other coins of the hapless, beer-swilling oaf have been found in circulation.

“I’ve been offered 20 euros for it,” said Martinez.

(Writing by Sarah Morris, edited by Richard Meares))

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Charleston police said a man tried to rob a movie rental store with an unusual weapon — an empty cheesecake box. Earlier this week, the suspect placed the box on the counter of the Movie Gallery with a note saying it contained a bomb. He told the clerk the bomb would be detonated remotely if he wasn’t given cash.

The clerk refused and the suspect fled.

Police arrested 43-year-old Paul Parrish II of Charleston on Wednesday. (more…)

Cheye Calvo, mayor of DC suburb Berwyn Heights, was raided by a SWAT team after 30lbs of marijuana was delivered to his home. They broke down his door, shot his two black labradors, and interrogated him and his wife as their dogs bled to death. Turns out Calvo says he had no idea about the package, which was still outside, unopened and perhaps waiting for its real recipient to pick it up. Police say they still had sufficient cause to break in (even though they did not have a “no-knock warrant”).

Another Police Raid; More Dead Dogs (Thanks, Danny!)

HOOPER, Utah - A farmer has erected a backyard fence made of three old cars sticking up in the air to send a message to new neighbors that he can do whatever he wants on his property.

“This is just a fun way for me to say, `Hey boys, I’m still here,’” Rhett Davis said. “This is my redneck Stonehenge.”

Davis came up with the idea after neighbors who recently moved into homes next to his hayfield complained about his farm. (more…)

Olympic gold medalist and outspoken Darfur activist Joey Cheek has had his visa revoked by the Chinese embassy, hours before the speedskating champion was set to fly to China. And he wasn’t even planning on wearing a mask when he got there.

Chinese officials don’t need a reason to revoke anyone’s visa but, in their eyes, they had plenty of reasons to snatch Cheek’s. He is the founder of Team Darfur, a group of 70 athletes whose goal it is to raise global awareness of the human-rights violations taking part in the Darfur region of Sudan. China’s military, economic and diplomatic ties to Sudan have been well-publicized in the lead-up to the Games. (more…)

Todd Lappin was invited to take a demo flight of the Emirates A380. He took a bunch of photos and wrote about it on his blog, Telstar Logistics.

It was the kind of offer Telstar Logistics cannot refuse: “Please join us for an exclusive opportunity to experience and fly on Emirates’ cutting-edge A380 aircraft during a two hour ‘demo flight’ and reception,” they said. So we said, “Sure! Sign us up!”
And away we went. Dubai-based Emirates brought the airline’s first Airbus A380 to San Francisco today to provide the locals with a first-hand demonstration of the aircraft’s formidable bling. Airbus delivered this A380 less than two weeks ago, and Emirates quickly put it to use as a high-profile billboard to introduce the airline to the American public.

TAMPA, Fla. - A second Florida man has been arrested on charges of making false 911 calls in as many days. An arrest report says 47-year-old Carlos Gutierrez was at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino early Monday and called 911 to say the slot machine stole his money. The report says Gutierrez left the casino to place a second 911 call to say the same thing. (more…)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A U.S. scientist said Sunday he has discovered the globe’s tiniest species of snake in the easternmost Caribbean island of Barbados, with full-grown adults typically stretching less than 4 inches (10 centimeters) long.

S. Blair Hedges, an evolutionary biologist at Penn State University whose research teams also have discovered the world’s tiniest lizard in the Dominican Republic and the smallest frog in Cuba, said the snake was found slithering beneath a rock near a patch of Barbadian forest. (more…)

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A corrupt Chinese official has been condemned to death after a leaky toilet led to the discovery of his huge hoard of illicit cash, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

Yan Dabin, a former director of transport for Wushan County near the southwestern city of Chongqing, was sentenced on Friday for taking bribes totalling 22.3 million yuan (1.7 million pounds) from road building companies, Xinhua said. (more…)

DILLON, S.C. - A suspected thief trying to steal $10 worth of copper got himself into a stinky situation when he was trapped under a trash bin at a county landfill for 12 hours, sheriff’s deputies said.

Deputies said Gibson Cook, 56, broke into the landfill, then got stuck as he tried to crawl under the large container. Landfill workers found him about 12 hours later with his legs sticking out from under the bin. Emergency workers had to inflate air bags so they could lift the bin to free him. (more…)

BLACKWOOD, N.J. - A 44-pound cat found lumbering around New Jersey was abandoned by a woman who said her home was foreclosed, an animal shelter official said Thursday.

The porky white cat found Saturday became a local media sensation and was dubbed “Princess Chunk”. But the animal is really a male whose name is Powder.

Jennifer Anderch, director of the Camden County Animal Shelter, said Thursday that the cat’s owner came forward to describe the animal’s background. (more…)

CANEY, Kan. - Oh, my! Three tiger cubs at a Kansas zoo are getting some maternal care from an unlikely source — Isabella the golden retriever.

The tiger cubs were born Sunday at Safari Zoological Park but their mother soon stopped caring for them. Isabella had just weaned her own puppies and was able to step in.

Zoo owner Tom Harvey says, “The timing couldn’t have been any better.”

He says it’s unusual for dogs to care for tiger cubs, but it does happen. Isabella licks, cleans and feeds the cubs just like her own puppies.

Safari Zoological Park specializes in endangered species. It has leopards, lions, baboons, ring-tailed lemurs, bears and other animals.

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The body of a Brazilian priest who floated out over the ocean suspended by hundreds of helium-filled party balloons, has been found off the coast of southeastern Brazil, police have confirmed.

The corpse of Father Adelir Antonio de Carli was spotted by a tugboat at sea near the city of Macae, three months after he disappeared while flying a contraption buoyed by balloons over the Atlantic Ocean in a fund-raising stunt. (more…)

BEIJING (Reuters) - Scores of Chinese air passengers smashed computers and desks and clashed with police Tuesday after a night stranded at an airport without accommodation, state media said.

More than 170 passengers were due to leave Kunming, capital of southwestern Yunnan province, on three flights operated by China Southern Airlines late Monday, but the flights were cancelled due to bad weather, Xinhua news agency said. (more…)

I linked to this craziness in yesterday’s 10-man rotation, but you really need to see the pics to believe it.

Thanks to a click-happy Wizards fan who recently visited the above oasis, D.C. Sports Bog has photos of the million-dollar pool Gilbert Arenas and his new $111 million contract are currently building. Equal parts awesome and ridiculous, here’s a few facts about the man-made lake that’ll certainly make you spit out your morning coffee: (more…)