Horses Laid Off as Cop Budgets Trimmed

Security camera confusion leads to hilarious pursuit

(NEWSER) - For 20 minutes, an undercover British police officer intrepidly tracked a suspicious person in an area recently hit with a spate of burglaries. Unfortunately, the officer was chasing himself. How? An operator watching the street via security camera alerted the plain-clothes officer of a suspicious person in the area—not realizing it was, in fact, the cop, explains the Telegraph . The camera operator began relaying the whereabouts of the "suspect" so the officer could nab him. More»

Columbus, Indiana, and Casper, Wyoming top employment list

(NEWSER) - Recession—that's a big-city thing, right? Several mid-size cities around the US are making an argument for their economic superiority, boasting job growth higher than the 1.5% national average in 2011. You may not know these cities well, but the Christian Science Monitor recommends them:

1. Columbus, Indiana: No, not Ohio's Columbus: Indiana's version had 10% growth from 2009 to 2010, making it the best economic rebounder during the Great Recession. Jobs are up 6.4%.

They want FCC, carriers to put safeguard in place

(NEWSER) - With smartphone robberies soaring, frustrated police are calling for regulators and service providers to shut down stolen phones remotely to reduce their value, reports the Washington Post . About 40% of robberies in Washington in 2011 involved smartphones, iPods, or tablets, while in New York City the figure was nearly 50%. “This is a national issue,” says the DC police chief, noting that the thefts have "clobbered" her department. “We have done all we can at the local level.” More»

Man appears to have killed 9-year-old son

(NEWSER) - Police are still sorting out what happened at a Florida RV park last night, after a standoff that left three people dead and two others badly hurt. Police got a call about a shooting at the park just before 6:30pm, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel . When they arrived, they found a man lying outside an RV. But before they could get close, a man inside the RV said he had a woman hostage, and would kill her if they approached. More»

But most remain upbeat about their future: Pew survey

(NEWSER) - The economy is doing a number on those aged 18 to 34, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center :

• Half say they have taken a job they didn't want.
• More than a third have gone back to school because of the job market.
• Nearly a quarter have taken unpaid work to gain experience.
• About a quarter have moved back in with the folks.
• More than 1 in 5 have postponed having a baby, and about the same number have put off getting married.