By ,
Published January 13, 2015
An East Texas college student finally learned why she'd gained weight and was having abdominal pain — she was about to give birth.
Annie Cohen was three days shy of 19 on the morning of June 16 when, after a night of tossing and turning, she walked out into her yard to try to catch some winks in her neighbor's swing seat.
"I had been having pains for about a week," the Marshall, Texas, woman told The News-Journal of neighboring Longview. "I thought maybe it was the bed, so I went outside to lay in the swing."
She didn't even make it that far. Instead, Cohen, already the mother of a 3-year-old, figured out she was in labor and grabbed the pole of her own swing set.
"It was one big push for the baby and a little one for the placenta," Annie Cohen told the newspaper.
"It was like a natural instinct," marveled her mother, Julie Cohen. "She knew to push to turn the baby's shoulder and to get the baby out."
After the delivery, Annie Cohen ran inside, yelling at her mother to call 911.
"I said 'Why?'" recounted Julie Cohen. "She said, 'There's a baby in the yard.' I said, 'Whose is it?' She said, 'It's mine.'"
Instead of waiting for the ambulance, however, the two women and the newborn baby boy drove to the hospital.
"She told me to slow down because the baby's not in a car seat," said Julie Cohen.
Carson Myles Cohen weighed in at a healthy 8 pounds. Both he and his mother were back home within two days.
Despite the signs, both mother and daughter, who is studying at Texas State Technical College (search), said neither guessed Annie Cohen was pregnant.
"It's a big surprise," said Julie Cohen. "I thought she was just really liking her pizza."
— Thanks to Out There reader Scott F.
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — Arthur Richardson thought he'd pull a prank and pretend to swallow a friend's truck key.
Unfortunately, Wednesday's prank backfired when Richardson plopped the key in his mouth and gravity took over. He tried to vomit up the key, and then drank Milk of Magnesia (search) to flush it out, but neither worked.
Richardson went to a doctor Thursday, who X-rayed his stomach and got a clear picture of the key. The doctor said the key posed no danger, but Richardson's friend needed to use his truck.
So Richardson and his friend took the X-rays to a locksmith, who used the pictures to fashion a new key. And it worked in the truck.
John Somers, owner of Al's Lock and Safe, said he'd never made a key before from the image of an X-ray.
"I have done all sorts of lock work, I've done all sorts of safe work," Somers said. "This is truly a first in my career."
Somers said he didn't have any immediate plans to set price rates for X-ray keys, but it's something he might consider.
Richardson said Monday that the key was still inside him and he planned to get another X-ray.
— Thanks to Out There readers Susan A. and Keil B.
Cashier Slams Robber's Thumb in Drawer
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A quick-thinking Denny's cashier thwarted a robbery by slamming the man's thumb in the cash drawer, trapping him while she yelled for help.
According to a police affidavit, Duane Eric Roper ate at the Austin restaurant on Thursday and then asked the cashier for change for a dollar. When she opened the drawer, he allegedly pulled out a box cutter and demanded all the money.
As the suspect reached into the drawer, the cashier slammed it shut and yelled for help. A customer called 911 while a manager freed the man and told him to leave.
The suspect left the restaurant empty-handed, and the manager and customer followed him on foot, relaying his description and whereabouts to emergency dispatchers.
Roper, 42, was arrested a short time later on a charge of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, a first-degree felony. He also allegedly admitted to robbing a store at an Austin mall. Bail was set at $20,000.
— Thanks to Out There reader Stacy S.
Orphaned Baseball Team Gets Offers to Play
CANAL WINCHESTER, Ohio (AP) — A baseball team of 11- and 12-year-olds kicked out of a league in this Columbus suburb is fielding offers from all over to play.
As reported in Out There last week, the Columbus Stars (search) were removed from their league last month because they were too good. Other teams began complaining — and canceling.
Michael Mirones, board chairman for the Canal Winchester Joint Recreation District (search), pulled the Stars from the league and returned their $150 entry fee. He suggested the Stars play in a travel league against better teams.
Now the Stars have received offers from teams all over central Ohio and in other states.
Clay Branch, a parent in a youth league in Atlanta, said he offered to arrange for the team to play in Georgia.
"I'd never heard of anything like that, and it blew my mind," he said. "I wish we were closer."
The Stars already have a couple of games coming up against teams in central Ohio. They also plan on playing in two tournaments next month.
Georgian Heights, a team from the Columbus area, defeated the Stars 5-4 last week to give them their first loss this season. The Stars had defeated Georgian Heights in two earlier meetings this year.
Stars pitcher Josh Dameron, 12, said the team learned from the loss.
"The mood of our team is the same," he said. "We don't care about the loss. The next time we play them, we hope we win."
Thieves Caught With Fake Job Interviews
FREMONT, Calif. (AP) — What's the best way to catch a thief? Call him back for a job interview.
That's what Fremont police tried when they learned that two job applicants were suspected of swiping an office worker's wallet.
Timothy Wash, 22, and his pal Andrew Gonzalez, 18, used the victim's credit card to buy boxers and gift cards at Target, and topped off the shopping spree with frappuccinos at Starbucks, according to investigators.
Police suggested the firm that reported the theft call the pair back for a second job interview. Gonzalez and Wash showed up at the office Wednesday and found detectives waiting for them.
The two confessed and police recovered the missing property at Wash's home, detectives said.
Police charged the pair with conspiracy, burglary, forgery and identify theft. Wash was arraigned in Fremont Friday and is being held at the Alameda County jail. Gonzalez' status could not be immediately ascertained.
Chess Players Set New World Record
PACHUCA, Mexico (AP) — Thousands of chess players set a new world record on Saturday for simultaneous chess matches at a public park in central Mexico, a Guinness World Records representative announced.
The total of 12,388 competitors participated to beat the previous record for simultaneous chess matches set in Havana in 2002 with 11,320 competitors.
Guinness World Records representative Stuart Claxton announced the awards, noting that Mexico also has produced the world's biggest batch of guacamole and the tallest cactus.
The record-setting crowd turned out on a cloudy, windy morning in Pachuca, 60 miles northeast of Mexico City, to earn a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Children made up about 80 percent of the players, said Rafael Hernandez, an organizer of the mass chess gathering.
A knowledge of the rules of chess was the only requirement to participate.
Click in the photo box above for a picture.
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Paul Wagenseil.
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