offbeat
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MALMO, Sweden (AP) — An ethno-inspired flute and drum tune from Denmark is the bookmakers' favorite to win this year's Eurovision Song Contest, which also features a bizarre opera pop number from Romania and an Armenian rock song written by the guitarist of Black Sabbath.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon funeral home in Eugene offers natural burials where the ride to the person's final resting place is on the back of a three-wheeled bicycle.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Anchorage police say a young man who didn't want to return to jail ran out onto the uncertain ice of an Alaska lake to escape officers armed with an arrest warrant.
SYDNEY (AP) — An Australian politician says he's learned a valuable lesson in social networking after he "liked" a Facebook photo without realizing that it showed a teenage prankster exposing himself.
HOUSTON (AP) — A Houston-area high school senior has bagged a 14-foot, 800 pound alligator — the heaviest ever certified in Texas — on his first alligator hunt.
NEW YORK (AP) — Residents of a New York luxury apartment building are livid over an exhibition of photos secretly snapped through their apartment windows.
KENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) — A Washington woman whose car was stolen from her apartment complex saw the stolen SUV hours later — in the drive-thru of the McDonald's restaurant where she works.
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A deer has taken a ride on a western Pennsylvania bus.
KEENE, N.H. (AP) — The city of Keene, N.H., has sued a group that feeds change into parking meters that are about to expire, saying members are harassing enforcement officers.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A large rainforest plant known as a corpse flower because of its awful smell is blooming again at an Ohio State University greenhouse, and there's more excitement because another corpse flower there is expected to open soon.
