Huge, smoky blazes become annual events

A blaze destroyed a West Side pallet warehouse, producing a towering plume of black smoke and blocking traffic for miles as residents struggled to flee from the thick smoke's wide reach. Pallets of plastic bottles, many of which contained expired soda, were among the materials that caught fire, sparking a blaze that took about 100 %firefighters about 90 minutes to contain.

The 210 take: I'm worried that I'm starting to obsess about Mulchie. I think about him all the time. Even a year later, every little thing reminds me of Mulchie's smoking mounds. 
 

Gross! Separated twins really, really bond

Twins who were separated at birth got married without realizing they were brother and sister, according to a British lawmaker. The lawmaker urged more information be provided on birth certificates for adopted children. “It involved the normal birth of twins ..... adopted by separate parents,” Lord David Alton said. “They were never told that they were twins. They met later in life and felt an inevitable attraction.”

The 210 take: It's this sort of thing that makes the News Nuggeteer glad he's an only child. ..... Or is he? [Suspicious glance at oddly handsome wife.

 
Phone companies cut cord on FBI wiretaps

The FBI has hit a major hang-up in its wiretapping surveillance program: failing to pay its phone bills on time. Facing tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills, telephone companies have cut off FBI wiretaps used to eavesdrop on suspects, an audit shows. The audit said the FBI's lax oversight of money also allowed one employee to steal $25,000.

The 210 take: Tension between the FBI and phone companies may be bad for investigations, but anything that brings that annoying “Can you hear me now” guy closer to getting hauled off in handcuffs is a good thing.

Two men in New York try to stiff corpse

Two men are accused of wheeling a dead man to a check-cashing store to cash his $355 Social Security check. The two men had dressed their recently deceased friend in a T-shirt, pants they could only get up part way, and a pair of Velcro sneakers. They then put the body in an office chair and wheeled him down a New York City street to a check-cashing store. A police officer confronted the men as they tried to haul the body into the store.

The 210 take: I blame this on the writers strike and one too many repeats of “Weekend at Bernie's.”
 

At least he's good at creative writing

The Eagle Pass city manager is under fire for lying about accomplishments on his résumé to get his $85,000-a-year job. A newspaper investigation found that Glen Starnes didn't work as an assistant city manager in Converse or as a congressman's aide as he had claimed. He did not earn three degrees from the University of Maryland either.

The 210 take: Other questionable accomplishments on his résumé: (1) Invented the question mark; (2) Solved the Jon Benet Ramsey murder case; (3) Is Santa Claus.

From staff and wire reports