Doctor Dies in Chimney Trying to Break Into House

California kid strangles himself with rope for thrills

(AP) - Police say a 12-year-old Southern California boy is dead after he apparently asphyxiated himself for thrills in the so-called "choking game." The boy died last week after tying a rope to his neck inside his home, the Santa Monica Police Department said yesterday. Officers found him in cardiac arrest, and he died at the hospital soon after. More»

Crew perished during WWII training flight; military funeral planned

(NEWSER) - Sixty-six years after his disappearance, a full military funeral is planned for a cadet lost in a flight accident during World War II, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The Army has identified a recently discovered body as Aviation Cadet Ernest Munn of Ohio, who crashed with three other crewmen in an AT-7 Navigator flying over Kings Canyon National Park in 1942. More»

Laverne Everett takes a scary skydive in California

(NEWSER) - Octogenarian skydiving may not exactly catch on after this video goes viral. Laverne Everett was celebrating birthday No. 80 with her first skydive when she became reluctant to jump at the last second, Huffington Post reports. The man going with her pried Everett free, and the pair tumbled out over northern California—where she nearly came out of her harness. Her partner held on tight as the pair plummeted toward the Earth. More»

Eric Simons turned AOL campus into his personal office

(NEWSER) - A teenage entrepreneur found the perfect place to develop his new software: AOL's campus in Palo Alto, Calif. Only problem: No one knew he was also eating, sleeping, working out, and doing his laundry there, CNET reports. Eric Simons had invented his educational software, ClassConnect, in a new campus "incubator" program called Imagine K12. But when his money ran out, Eric figured he'd see if his campus security access still worked. And it did. More»

California locale tops annual survey

(NEWSER) - If you're yearning for a little beach time this summer, California's Coronado Beach is the place to be, according to an annual survey. The 1.5-mile stretch of sparkling sand wins top honors in the 2012 survey by a Florida professor known as "Dr. Beach," reports AP . Coronado's main drawback: The water is a bit chilly. The top 5 winners in the survey, which takes into account a host of factors including water quality and safety:

1. Coronado Beach, California
2. Kahanamoku Beach, Waikiki
3. Main Beach, East Hampton, New York
4. St. George Island State Park, Florida
5. Hamoa Beach, Maui