Man Awarded $50K Over Bird-Flipping Ticket

Prosecutors around the country try similar tactics

(NEWSER) - Anthony Graber is facing 16 years in prison because he had his video camera rolling in the wrong place at the wrong time. Graber was filming on his motorcycle when a cop pulled him over—by cutting him off and waving a gun at him. When Graber put the video on YouTube, police raided his home, took his computers, and slapped him with felony wiretapping charges. More»

Fugitive still had an IV in his arm: cops

(NEWSER) - A man on the run from Michigan police was apprehended last week after wandering into a Pittsburgh bar in a hospital gown with an IV trailing out of his arm. He then ran from the cops, who Tasered him. Elbert Lewis Thompson, 20, was wanted for armed robbery in Michigan—and other charges in a Pittsburgh suburb. Police tell the Post-Gazette they have no idea why he was in the hospital, or why he left the way he did. More»

Tennessee's Bud Adams dinged for 'detrimental' conduct

(NEWSER) - The NFL fined 86-year-old Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams $250,000 for "conduct detrimental to the league"—namely, flipping the bird toward the Buffalo Bills' sideline in the waning moments of yesterday's 41-17 Tennessee victory. He later repeated the display on the field, the Tennessean reports. "I need to apologize for my actions yesterday near the end of the game," he said in a statement. "I need to specifically apologize to the Bills, their fans, our fans and the NFL." More»

(NEWSER) - Pittsburgh bade farewell today to the three police officers slain Saturday in a ceremony attended by family, citizens, and cops from around the nation, the Post-Gazette reports. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said the city would not easily forget the “pain of this tragic event,” but praised the fallen officers for their heroism. The mayor had personally sworn in two of the cops. More»

Troubled youth 'never had bad intentions,' friend says

(NEWSER) - The 22-year-old man who murdered three police officers in an early morning shootout today was a fun-loving youth who feared the government would take away his gun rights, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. “He was a good kid,” said Edward Perkovic, a lifelong friend of Richard Poplawski, who’s now in police custody. “He never had bad intentions. He never spoke about harming anybody.” More»