There's funny money, and there's extremely funny money.
Police in Twin Falls, Idaho, have almost $1 billion in fake money locked up in their evidence room — but it's not taking up that much space because the face value of every bill is $1 million, according to The Times-News.
Baffled and bemused cops seized 999 bills — one short of $1 billion — after a man from Buhl attempted to deposit them at a bank as collateral for a loan.
"It would have been remarkable if anyone would have accepted them as legitimate," interim Police Chief Jim Munn told The Times-News. "This is just absolutely comical."
Detective Sgt. David Heidemann said the counterfeit cash, printed to resemble the "horse blanket" silver certificate notes issued in 1923, was made in the United Kingdom, Canada or Nigeria.
Heidemann told The Times-News that the slightly washed-out phony bills were "actually better quality than we normally see on counterfeit notes."
— Thanks to Out There reader Tanya W.
Burning Manure Pile in Nebraska Finally Goes Out
MILFORD, Neb. (AP) — It took nearly four months, but to the relief of neighbors miles around, a burning manure pile has been extinguished.
David Dickinson, owner and manager of Midwest Feeding Co., said Wednesday that several weeks of pulling the 2,000-ton pile apart proved effective by late last week.
"We got far enough through it, that it quit," Dickinson said. Dickinson's feedlot, about 20 miles west of Lincoln, takes in as many as 12,000 cows at a time from farmers and ranchers and fattens them for market.
Byproducts from the massive operation resulted in a dung pile measuring 100 feet long, 30 feet high and 50 feet wide. Heat from the decomposing manure deep inside the pile is believed to have eventually ignited the manure.
The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality told Dickinson that his smoldering dung pile violated clean-air laws and it worked with him as tried to extinguish it.
Huge feedlots have become commonplace, and dung fires have occurred around the country.
Dickinson said his pile may have been ignited in part because of grass clippings his feedlot had been accepting from the city of Milford. The clippings could be more combustible and he plans to stop accepting them, Dickinson said.
— Thanks to Out There reader Brian S.
Man Arrested for Punching Out Airplane Window in Flight
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A passenger punched out an airplane window during an outburst on an American West flight from Las Vegas, authorities said.
Ryan J. Marchione, 24, of Venice, shattered the inner plastic shield covering the glass window and disconnected its frame about 90 minutes into Tuesday's overnight flight, according to an affidavit by FBI Agent Daniel S. Wierzbicki. The outer window was not damaged and the plane did not depressurize, the airline said.
The punch "basically exposed the exterior of the aircraft," Assistant U.S. Attorney Ernest Peluso said Thursday during a detention hearing.
Marchione was arrested after the plane landed Wednesday morning at Tampa International Airport. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted of a charge of damaging or destroying an aircraft while it was operating.
The damage delayed the aircraft's outbound flight for 65 minutes and caused about 40 people to miss connecting flights, according to Wierzbicki's affidavit.
About 90 minutes after the plane departed Las Vegas, Marchione "woke abruptly from his sleep and turned to the passenger seated in 7B ... raised a clenched fist to his shoulder as if he was going to strike the passenger in 7B, then suddenly turned and struck the exterior window," the affidavit said.
"It appears to have come out of nowhere. Perhaps it was some sort of a psychotic episode as a result of drug abuse," said Marchione's attorney, Thomas Ostrander.
U.S. Magistrate Thomas Wilson ordered Marchione released on $25,000 bail and home detention, with electronic monitoring.
— Thanks to Out There reader Shannon O.
Woman Faces Jail Time for $1.16 Tax Bill
LOVELAND, Ohio (AP) — A woman who hasn't paid a $1.16 income tax bill to this Cincinnati suburb faces a stiff penalty — up to 18 months in jail and $4,000 in fines.
City officials say Deborah Combs hasn't filed city income tax returns for five years. Combs says she has been mostly unemployed since 2000 and didn't realize she had to file the returns until the city notified her in February about the violation.
By that time, Combs owed $200 in late fees — $50 for each year she didn't file a return.
"I don't know how they could charge me the fees if I didn't owe anything," Combs said.
Loveland officials say everyone is required to file an annual return, regardless of income level.
"This is a flagrant offender," said City Manager Frederick Enderle. "She's been given ample opportunity and ample warning to file those returns and she chose to ignore them."
Combs agreed to a tax liability for $1.16 for 2003, but she hasn't been able to pay the late fees, she said. She was charged with four first-degree misdemeanors and has an Oct. 20 hearing in Loveland Mayor's Court.
— Thanks to Out There readers Greg M. and Don W.
Cops Look for Missing Massive Billboard Cow
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — A full-size fiberglass cow was swiped from a Chick-fil-A billboard overlooking an interstate in eastern Virginia.
"It's kind of funny," said Mark Baldwin, a spokesman for Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A Inc. "But it's still a crime."
Tuesday, workers for Adams Outdoor Advertising noticed that one of two black-and-white cows had vanished from the 50-foot-high billboard along Interstate 464 in Chesapeake. It's the first time Chick-fil-A has lost a local cow, though about a dozen have been stolen in other parts of the country.
Authorities have been notified. The cows cost $3,200, which makes stealing them a felony.
Keith Krause of Adams says he can't figure out how someone stole the 500-pound cow.
But Krause joked about a possible suspect, since the Chick-fil-A billboards often have cows painting a self-serving "Eat Chikin" message.
"Could this be a case of fowl play?" he asked.
— Thanks to Out There reader Beth M.
Vail Countersues Skier Who Filed Suit
VAIL, Colo. (AP) — It's not unusual for a skier to sue a ski resort over something.
However, it's almost unheard of for the resort to sue back.
In what is believed to be a first for the Colorado resort, Vail has filed a countersuit against a woman who sued after being injured while skiing.
Vail real estate agent Julia Parsons filed the suit after cutting her knee on a ski bridge rail.
She says she hit a metal bracket that was sticking out and should have been repaired. Vail says she was skiing out of control. That's a violation of state law.
The resort says it will drop its countersuit if she withdraws her complaint.
Vail is owned by Vail Resorts — the parent company of Heavenly Mountain Resort.
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Andrew Hard.
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