6-year-old misses bus, takes family car, crashes (AP)
AP - A 6-year-old Virginia boy who missed his bus tried to drive to school in his family's sedan — and crashed.

Fabulous fib is named Wis. club's top lie of 2008 (AP)
AP - A whopper about a devious baby and his diapers is the top lie of 2008, an organization of champion fibbers declared Monday. The Burlington Liars Club bestowed its top award for this line: "My grandson is the most persuasive liar I have ever met. By the time he was 2 years old he could dirty his diaper and make his mother believe someone else had done it."

Police: Mexican woman in wheelchair flees on foot (AP)
AP - Police say a woman who begged from a wheelchair was caught running from a crime scene on foot in Monterrey, Mexico. Police spokeswoman Sidlayin Robles says 30-year-old Ana Victoria Perez fled on foot after she and her husband allegedly threw a stone through the front window of a furniture store.

Man shot by his stepdad ends up in jail with him (AP)
AP - A man who police said was shot by his stepfather ended up in the same jail with him after officers discovered outstanding arrest warrants against the victim. Police told The Daily News of Jacksonville that 37-year-old Richard Hayes shot his stepson Thursday night.

Man finds live mortar shell in grandpa's things (AP)
AP - A Colorado man sorting through his late grandfather's belongings found a bombshell, sort of: A live mortar round from the Korean War era. A bomb squad detonated the shell at an undisclosed site. No one was hurt. Police said Monday the grandson discovered the shell in a firearms cabinet at his grandfather's home just outside Greeley on Friday.

Police foil German children's dash to Africa (Reuters)
Reuters - Three German children aged five, six and seven who said they were fed up with cold weather at home set off on a voyage to Africa but only got as far as the local train station, police said on Monday.

Berlin zookeeper's son tries to cash in on Knut (Reuters)

Reuters - The son of the late German zookeeper who nurtured celebrity polar bear cub Knut at Berlin zoo has raised nearly 7,000 euros ($9,748) by selling off his father's belongings on internet auction site eBay.

Woman gives birth at London Tube station (Reuters)
Reuters - A Polish woman has become only the second person to give birth on London's underground rail network since it opened 146 years ago, the transport authority confirmed on Friday.

Morris dancers urge young to strap on the bells (Reuters)
Reuters - Britain's morris dancers, renowned for bells on knees, coloured rags and flower-bedecked hats, are launching a recruitment drive to convince young people that their stick-slapping art form is not a thing of the past.

Church of England pens prayer for the redundant (Reuters)
Reuters - The Church of England published a prayer on Tuesday to help comfort Britons who lose their jobs in the financial crisis.

Holier than thou? Rio's Christ statue has rival (Reuters)
Reuters - A little-known Brazilian farming town with sugar cane wealth is set to upstage Rio de Janeiro by erecting a statue of Christ that will eclipse its famous equivalent atop Rio's Corcovado mountain.

Angry Taiwan aboriginals throw eggs (Reuters)
Reuters - Hundreds of Taiwan aboriginals threw eggs at a heavily guarded government office on Tuesday while yelling epithets in protest against what they said was a lack of protection for historic land rights.

Cuba opens Hemingway archives to scholars (Reuters)
Reuters - Cuba on Monday made the first of thousands of digitized documents, photographs and books that belonged to writer Ernest Hemingway available to scholars after the items languished for decades in the basement of his home outside of Havana.

Father-son duo accused of gravestone robbing (AP)
AP - Police are puzzling over what would motivate a father and son to haul off six tombstones from a monument company in suburban Albany. Town of Colonie Detective Lt. John Van Alstyne said he's not sure what kind of aftermarket there might be for the hefty granite grave-markers.

Finger-flicking competitor handed ban in China (Reuters)
Reuters - A leading Chinese speed skater has been banned for one year after he made obscene gestures towards spectators during a national tournament, local media reported Tuesday, citing sport authorities.

Boy, 4, shoots babysitter for stepping on his foot (AP)
AP - Police say an angry 4-year-old Ohio boy grabbed a gun from a closet and shot his baby sitter. Nathan Beavers, 18, was hospitalized Sunday with minor wounds to his arm and side after the shotgun attack. Police say another teen was also injured.

Bolivia's Morales to launch state-run daily paper (Reuters)
Reuters - Leftist Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Sunday he would launch a state-run daily newspaper later this month, saying the paper would act as a counterbalance to the "anti-government" local media.

Topless coffee shop proposed for small Maine town (AP)
AP - A one-time motel in a small central Maine town could soon be offering an eye-opening way to start the day — topless coffee shop waitresses. The Vassalboro Planning Board on Tuesday will consider a business permit request for a topless coffee shop on busy Route 3.