Overreaction 

Curses, Foiled Again
Jeffrey Wood, 19, announced a robbery at a convenience store in Washington, D.C., where two police detectives were shopping. They were in plain clothes, but one had her badge hanging from her neck. She told the suspect, "Stop playing, I got 17," referring to the number of bullets in her gun. Wood reportedly replied, "I got 17, too." He was bluffing, however, and was easily arrested. (The Washington Post)

• Someone reported two men acting suspiciously in a parked car in Rexburg, Idaho, but before police could respond, the men, aware that they had been observed, assumed they had been discovered by undercover officers. They called 911 and admitted possessing 20 pounds of marijuana. Rexburg police, who said they had no idea the men were driving through town with drugs, arrived to find Leland Ryan Kaimipono Ayala-Doliente, 21, and Craig Seward, 22, standing outside their car with the pot. (Pocatello's Idaho State Journal)

Victim of the Week
Adam Wisneski, 31, rode his bicycle to a Chicago police station to report a stolen iPhone. He didn't have his lock, so he asked if he could leave his bike inside the station. After filling out a police report, he turned around to find someone had stolen his bike. (Chicago's WBBM Radio)

Forgive and Forget
After Charlene and Charles Earle drove to a hospital in Orange City, Fla., for treatment of injuries from a fight at home, sheriff's deputies described the couple as "mutual combatants." Charlene Earle is 83, 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 88 pounds. Charles Earle is 87. They've been married 64 years. They told authorities they didn't remember the incident or why they were arguing. (The Daytona Beach News-Journal)

When Guns Are Outlawed
Police said Andrew Rak, 28, threatened Will Flanagan, the former mayor of Fall River, Mass., with oversize scissors used at ribbon-cutting ceremonies. Rak reportedly stole the prop scissors from Flanagan's SUV, along with other items, including a small souvenir baseball bat, which he smashed against the ground outside Flanagan's apartment while stating he was going to "kill the mayor." Flanagan, who was ousted from office by a recall election in December, confronted Rak, who said, "I'm going to kill you. You lost the election." (Fall River's The Herald News)

• Authorities charged Tewana Sullivan, 50, with murdering her 66-year-old friend by beating her over the head with a slow cooker and tying the cord around her neck. The incident occurred while the two residents of a senior-housing complex in Livonia, Mich., argued over "presidential politics," Sullivan's lawyer said, and "whatever the controversy is between Democrats and Republicans." (The Detroit News)

Overreaction
Mitzi Lynn Martinez, 50, admitted setting fire to a tent where two men were sleeping after drinking beer with them at her home in Palm Bay, Fla. She said she gave one of the men $15 to go buy more beer, then got into a "heated argument" with the other one, who left. He met the other man, and they took the beer to their tent. Five hours later, Martinez lit a soft drink container filled with lighter fluid and rolled it down an embankment toward the tent, which burst into flames. Police charged her with attempted murder. (Orlando Sentinel)

Buzz Kills
One byproduct of legalized marijuana is a rash of exploding houses, according to Colorado authorities, who reported 32 such blasts across the state in 2014. The incidents result from people using flammable liquids to extract hash oil from marijuana. "They get enough vapors inside the building, and it goes off," Grand Junction fire marshal Chuck Mathis said. The fires have injured dozens of people, including 17 who received skin grafts and surgery at the University of Colorado Hospital's burn center. Arguing that such tragedies aren't crimes because of the 2012 constitutional amendment that legalized marijuana use, attorney Robert Corry said using butane to make hash oil is "the equivalent of frying turkey for Thanksgiving," where "someone spills the oil, and there's an explosion." (The New York Times)

• Spanish authorities on the resort island of Ibiza said Dimitrina Dimitrova, 29, was so excited when her boyfriend proposed to her at a scenic spot overlooking the Mediterranean Sea that she began jumping up and down, lost her balance and fell 65 feet to her death. (Britain's Daily Mail)

Shirking-Class Hero
A.K. Verma, an assistant executive engineer at India's Central Public Works Department (CPWD), went on leave in 1990 but declined to return to work. "He went on seeking extension of leave, which was not sanctioned, and defied directions to report to work," a government statement said, noting that an inquiry found Verma guilty of "willful absence from duty" in 1992. He remained on unauthorized leave for another 22 years, however, before Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu finally ordered his dismissal to "streamline the functioning of CPWD and to ensure accountability." (Britain's The Guardian)

Them That Has, Gets
Although China owns at least $1.3 trillion of the United States' debt, the U.S. government sent it $12.3 million in foreign aid last year and is handing it another $6.8 million in 2014. An official for the State Department's USAID program said the money is earmarked to help Tibetan communities "preserve their threatened cultural traditions" and to help China "address environmental conservation and strengthen the rule of law." (The Washington Times)

Insensitivity Lessons
The Irish school Colaiste Eoin in Stillorgan canceled a workshop on homophobic bullying after its board of management decided "both sides of the argument should be represented." (Britain's Metro)

• Philadelphia's Bryn Mawr College drew criticism after sending overweight students an email advertising a fitness program. Targeted students with "elevated" body mass indexes were identified by information from the school's health center. Center Director Dr. Kay Kerr apologized "to anyone who has been upset or offended by our communication." (NBC News)

Mr. Unlucky
Motorist Michael S. Baumann, 20, hit bicyclist Darryl Isaacs, 50, from behind in Indian Hills, Ky. Witnesses confirmed that Isaacs was signaling a left turn when he was struck and thrown back into the car's windshield and onto the pavement. Police Chief Kelly Spratt said Isaacs is lucky to be alive. Isaacs is a well-known personal-injury attorney who markets himself as the "Heavy Hitter" and the "Kentucky Hammer" for his firm's success in recovering $500 million in benefits for his clients. (Louisville's The Courtier-Journal)

Compiled from news sources by Roland Sweet. Authentication on demand.