Police said an Erie-area woman somehow managed to zap both herself and her brother with a stun gun during a drunken dispute. Darlene Newara, 45, will have a hearing Oct. 18 on charges including driving under the influence, disorderly conduct for fighting, and public drunkenness in the Aug. 8 incident.

A southern Michigan man simply wanted to gather some sweet corn for the family freezer. He didn't expect to have to deal with a 34-inch alligator rushing at him. Jeff Adamski of St. Joseph County was in a corn field near the Michigan-Indiana border when two women came running from a few rows over, screaming that they had seen an ...

Just in case it wasn't clear: Weapons and drugs don't make good charitable donations

General rule of thumb: when looking to buy marijuana, don't text the sheriff

Virtual characters can behave according to actions carried out unconsciously by humans. Researchers at the University of Barcelona have created a system which measures human physiological parameters, such as respiration or heart rate, and introduces them into computer designed characters in real time."The ultimate aim is to develop a method which allows humans to unconsciously relate with some parts of the virtual environment more intensely than with others, and that they are encouraged only by their own physiological responses to the virtual reality shown", Christoph Groenegress, co-author of the work and researcher at the University of Barcelona explains to SINC.The system, the details of which were recently published in the journal The Visual Computer, uses sensors and wireless devices to measure three physiological parameters in real time: heart rate, respiration, and the galvanic (electric) skin response. Immediately, the data is processed with a software program that is used to control the behavior of a virtual character who is sitting in a waiting room.The heart rate is reflected in the movement of the character's feet; respiration in the rising of their chest (exaggerated movements so that it can be noticed); and the galvanic skin response in the more or less reddish color of the face.The researchers conducted an experiment to see if the people whose physiological parameters were recorded had any preference as regards the virtual actor who was to use them, without them knowing in advance. But the result was negative, "probably because other factors also influence the choice such as the character's appearance or their situation in the scene". The team is now studying how to solve this problem.To tell stories and in rehabilitationThe scientists point out that the unconscious processes can be a useful tool for telling stories ?in a video-game, for example- or for arousing interest in participants when carrying out a sequence of tasks, such as patients undergoing rehabilitation."We maintain that the linking of subjective corporal states to a virtual reality can improve the sensation of realism that a person has of this reality and, eventually, create a stronger link between humans and this virtual reality", Groenegress concludes. References: Christoph Groenegress, Bernhard Spanlang y Mel Slater. "The physiological mirror - a system for unconscious control of a virtual environment through physiological activity". The Visual Computer 26 (6-8): 649, 2010. DOI: 10.1007/s00371-010-0471-9.---Image Caption: Human unconscious is transferred to virtual characters. Credit: Groenegress et al.---On the Net:FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and TechnologyThe Visual Computer

Two young goats wandered onto the thin ledge of a railroad bridge and spent nearly two days high above the ground.

The powdery substance that Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers found in a zip-close bag during a recent traffic stop didn't turn out to be drugs after all.

Two young goats wandered onto the thin ledge of a railroad bridge and spent nearly two days high above the ground until rescuers in a towering cherry picker plucked them from their perch, hungry but safe.

Two young goats were rescued after spending two days stranded on the six-inch ledge of a railroad bridge 60 feet above a road in southern Montana

Talk about pigging out: Joey Chestnut has eaten his way to another ribs-eating title in Nevada.

Elementary school playgrounds in one West Virginia county are losing their swing sets.

For a second time, an Ohio woman has given birth to a baby who couldn't wait and arrived on the drive to the hospital.

A homeless man who called 911 from a hot tub and asked for towels, hot chocolate and a hug got arrested instead.

Police said a 37-year-old man driving a dump truck led them on an hour-long chase over roads, rails and yards in the Syracuse area that ended with the suspect being shot. The Onondaga County Sheriff said Stanley Lostumbo jumped into a dump truck Tuesday night after being accused of stealing from vending machines at a mall.

Police investigating a home burglary in Russellville found a surprising clue -- a cell phone that got left behind. Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing said the phone was left near where a computer was taken in the weekend burglary. Investigators began calling some of the phone numbers and determined the phone belonged to a 19-year-old who was on probation ...

Elementary school playgrounds in one West Virginia county are losing their swing sets. Swings are being removed from Cabell County schools in southern West Virginia in part because of lawsuits over injuries.

Forget "Fore!"

Connecticut State Police say a man fell out of his car onto Interstate 95 and watched his vehicle drive on for about two-tenths of a mile before it crashed into a pole.

A northwest suburban Chicago man living in a van in his padlocked home's driveway has been granted a jury trial on a village demand that he clean up his cluttered property.

Ohio police say a Toby Keith fan named Forrest Frankenstein threatened them and beat his head against a partition in their cruiser after his arrest.