The following stories are brought to you by the good folks on the News4 assignment desk.
LEGAL COCAINE? NOT REALLY.
Red Bull Simply Cola calls itself "strong and natural" -- and ain't nothing more natural than cocaine. German officials have been pulling the beverage off shelves since a study (at Germany's Health Institute in the state of North Rhine Westphalia) found traces of cocaine in Red Bull's spinoff drink. Good thing you can still get your liquid cocaine in the good ol' US of A! Oh yeah, sure, we know you're only buying it for the lemon, ginger and kola nut. Just like you only read this site for the articles. "De-cocainized coca leaf extracts are used as flavoring in food products around the world and are considered to be safe," Red Bull officials state in a statement. Oh, OK, if the manufacturer says it's safe, then we TOTALLY trust them. (NBC Washington)
BEER CARTON CAPER
Police in Nebraska are looking for a man who stole cigarettes while disguising himself with a beer carton. The man walked into a Kwik Shop convenience store before dawn Monday wearing an empty Bud Light box on his head as a mask, said Lincoln police Capt. Bob Kawamoto. The man also had wrapped something around one of his hands, suggesting he was armed, said Kawamoto. But the man never showed a weapon. (MSNBC)
FENTY IS A SPEEDER
While us city hall reporter types are on the subject of the mayor’s personal conveyance, LL ran the mayor’s plates (CV-6154) through the DMV ticket payment database. He got a hit! The mayor’s Smart Car Fortwo Passion Cabriolet picked up a $50 ticket on Monday, May 11, for ‘SPEED 11-15 OVR LIMT’ while going westbound on the 5500 block of East Capitol Street NE [a screenshot]. (Washington City Paper)
THERE IS FRIENDSHIP IN SPELLING
McLauren Kirk had a hamburger in hand, a new friend by her side. On Monday afternoon, she was one of the cool kids.
The 14-year-old from Bloomington, Ind., with the lime-green headband and wild shoelaces wasn't about to skip the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee barbecue to pore over lists of obscure words for the week-long spell-off. While a few did choose to hang out at the hotel to study — with the hope they'll be crowned champion Thursday on prime-time network television — the rest were in their element at a park in the Virginia suburbs, romping around, playing volleyball, trading autographs and singing karaoke. (ABBA seemed to be a favorite this year). (USA Today)
