Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) expressed concern that counterfeit prom dresses from China are flooding the U.S. market.

“The domestic prom and bridal dress industry is increasingly under threat from Chinese dress manufacturers and websites that sell counterfeit goods directly to U.S. consumers,” Menendez wrote in a letter sent to Lev Kubiak, director of the Intellectual Property Rights Coordination (IPR) Center.

Menendez said counterfeiting of U.S.-designed and branded clothes harms the economy and is “ripping off consumers.”

“The effects of this direct-to-consumer sale of counterfeit goods negatively impacts companies, consumers, and taxpayers alike,” Menendez wrote over the weekend. “American companies that invest in the design, marketing, and manufacturing, and distribution of prom and bridal dresses are losing sales to Chinese firms that flagrantly violate U.S. law.”

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/senator-calls-for-tougher-regs-on-counterfeit-prom-dresses/ar-BB7PTa9

CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. (AP) — A New York supermarket employee has been accused of leaving the store with $1,200 worth of meat hidden in his pants.

State police say Gregory Rodriguez, of Ossining, is charged with fourth-degree grand larceny.

Rodriguez works at the A&P in Croton-on-Hudson. Police were called Monday about the theft. Rodriguez was arrested Tuesday.

A state police spokeswoman, Trooper Melissa McMorris, says the theft occurred in one day. She did not know if it involved more than one trip to the store.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/01/gregory-rodriguez_n_5916540.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

FORT LEE — Port Authority police on Thursday arrested a man who brought marijuana to the borough court -- where he was scheduled to appear on charges including marijuana possession, the agency said.

Richard Thompson, 32, of Stamford, Connecticut, showed up at court around 10:20 a.m. with a backpack, according to police spokesman Joe Pentangelo. As part of standard security screenings, officials opened the bag and discovered less than 50 grams of marijuana inside.

They also found two packages of rolling papers and an unrolled cigar wrapper often re-used to smoke marijuana, Pentangelo said.

http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2014/10/drug_defendant_brings_marijuana_to_fort_lee_court_hearing_port_authority_says.html#incart_river

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 1, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- In perhaps one of the happiest studies ever conducted, scientists confirm what many partygoers know: Just add booze and groups of men start smiling.

The study, reported this week in the journal Clinical Psychological Science, included more than 700 social drinkers in their 20s. It found that drinking significantly boosted "contagious smiling" in groups consisting solely of men, but did not have the same effect when women were on the scene.

"We wanted to explore the possibility that social alcohol consumption was more rewarding to men than to women -- the idea that alcohol might actually 'lubricate' social interaction to a greater extent among men," study author Catharine Fairbairn, a psychological scientist at the University of Pittsburgh, said in a journal news release.

Prior research has shown that men are about 50 percent more likely than women to drink excessively, and a great deal of problem drinking occurs when they're socializing, Fairbairn's team explained.

In fact, "many men report that the majority of their social support and social bonding time occurs within the context of alcohol consumption," Fairbairn said.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/a-little-booze-does-get-men-smiling-study-confirms/ar-BB6PiFv

PHOENIX - A one-time UPS worker is accused of stealing a package containing a $160,000 diamond, and trading the valuable jewel for $20 worth of marijuana.

Walter Earl Morrison, 20, was working for UPS while unloading a plane in the cargo section of Sky Harbor Airport when he stuffed a package under his shirt, according to court documents.

Morrison thought the package contained cash, but instead he found a diamond.

“Any single stone over $100,000 is an expensive stone,” House of Diamonds owner Brent Taubman said when asked about pricey diamonds.

Morrison allegedly traded the diamond for the drug, before being caught.

www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/fired-ups-worker-accused-of-stealing-160k-diamond-trading-it-for-20-worth-of-marijuana

RALEIGH — Hundreds of North Carolinians – and one cat – have received incorrect voter registration information, according to the N.C. State Board of Elections.

The information – an “official application form” – was sent by Americans for Prosperity, a national conservative group with a state chapter based in Raleigh.

Since then, hundreds of people who received the forms have called and complained to the State Board of Elections, said Joshua Lawson, a public information officer for the board.

“It’s unclear where (Americans for Prosperity) got their list, but it’s caused a lot of confusion for people in the state,” Lawson said.

One resident even received a voter registration form addressed to her cat, he said.

“The phone calls have consistently been all day, every day,” Lawson said.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/09/25/4181779_voters-mailed-incorrect-information.html?sp=/99/102/105/&rh=1#storylink=cpy

NAMPA, Idaho (AP) — Authorities in Idaho have arrested the driver thought to have abandoned a trailer containing 37,000 pounds of rotten chicken at a western Montana truck stop.

The Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force in Meridian found Christopher Hall, 42, on Friday afternoon, Nampa police Lt. Eric Skoglund said.

Police say the trailer might have been sitting at the Flying J Truck Stop west of Missoula, Montana, for a month before it was discovered this week with rancid juices from the cargo dripping onto the pavement and attracting flies.

Hall abandoned the trailer after his employer, Dixie River Freight Inc., refused his demands for more money to deliver its then-frozen cargo to Kent, Washington, according to police.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/27/christopher-hall_n_5892672.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

LADUE, Mo. (KMOV.com) – A real estate agent is accused of stealing more than $100,000 worth of jewelry from a home while he was house-sitting.

Andrew Bauer, 23, is facing felony theft charges.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Bauer stole jewelry while a colleague was out of town. Bauer was watching her house while she was gone.

http://www.kmov.com/news/crime/Real-estate-agent-accused-of-stealing-more-than-100000-worth-of-jewelry-277160411.html

The Oklahoma City Police Department said a man is in custody after he carjacked a McDonald's customer and then lead police on a chase early Tuesday morning.

Erik Aguilar, 25, was arrested Tuesday morning for robbery and attempting to elude an officer.

According to police, they were called to the McDonald's at NW 23rd and Pennsylvania at 12:50 Tuesday morning to a reported carjacking. The driver told police she was at the drive thru when a Hispanic man came up to her driver's side door and opened it.

She said he told her to get out of the car but she refused and the two began to fight over the car. She said he eventually was able to pull her out of the car and threw her to the ground before driving off in the car.

http://www.okcfox.com/story/26605348/man-carjacked-mcdonalds-customer-led-cops-on-chase-police-say

SANTA ANA (KABC) --
A man who cased a grocery store on a motorized scooter, then grabbed the store manager and robbed the place was identified on Thursday. He was already in custody on an unrelated incident.

Antonio Delgado Juarez was in Santa Ana Police custody, arrested for burglary, battery and possession of burglary tools on Monday in an unrelated case. Santa Ana Police received a tip from the public that led to the identification of Juarez after the case was aired on local television. Details of the Monday arrest were not released.

On September 18 around 10 a.m., Juarez jumped off a scooter inside a Food 4 Less, put the store manager in a chokehold and robbed the supermarket.

Surveillance video shows Juarez grabbing a motorized scooter and riding up and down aisles for more than 15 minutes. Police believe he was scoping out the store.

http://abc7.com/news/scooter-riding-robber-identified;-already-in-custody/324147/