Lenin impersonator ill after arrest on Red Square

A famous Lenin impersonator who poses for photos with tourists on Moscow's Red Square has fallen ill after being arrested, Russian media report. Sergei Solovyov, 53, was detained after complaints from vendors reportedly "aggrieved" by his appearance and foul language - a charge he denied. When Mr Solovyov was taken before a judge, he fell ill with high blood pressure and was rushed to hospital.

A tsar impersonator working with him accused police of harassment. Viktor Chepkasov, 55, told media he had been working alongside "Lenin" for years as his arch-enemy Nicholas II, Russia's last tsar. The two men pose on Red Square, one of Moscow's top tourist destinations, which houses the mausoleum where the remains of the real Lenin are still preserved amid some controversy.

Mr Solovyov was detained by police on Monday minutes after a phone call from a street vendor "aggrieved by [Mr Solovyov's] appearance", Russian news website LifeNews reports. Mr Chepkasov, who accompanied his friend to the police station, appeared to know the caller, telling the website he "traded incense and begged for money on the square". At the scene, he added, another vendor told police "Lenin" had been swearing obscenely. According to the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, both vendors - one an Orthodox Christian and the other a Hare Krishna follower - had phoned police to complain about alleged foul language outside a church on the square. Accused of hooliganism, Mr Solovyov told police: "I did not use obscene language. I am not capable of such a thing."

One-legged housebreaker caught after leaving telltale trail of single footprints

A one-legged crook was caught after leaving a trail of solitary footprints at the scene of the crime. Hopalong housebreaker David Phillips, whose leg is amputated above the knee, had swiped computers and jewels in a series of raids. But he was trapped when he left a string of crutch marks and right footprints in muddy ground at the scene of one of his break-ins. The telltale trail led right to his flat and a police source said yesterday: "It was not the hardest series of crimes to solve as he cuts a pretty distinctive figure with one leg.

"By the time he left a trail in the mud, even Inspector Clouseau might have managed to collar him." Phillips, 44, was jailed for 40 months at Perth Sheriff Court after admitting housebreaking, breaching a curfew and brawling with police. The court was told he lost his leg through drugs and didn't know it had been amputated until he woke up in Ninewells Hospital, Dundee.
Alan Kempton, prosecuting, said as well as the muddy trail, police found DNA traces at one scene. Phillips laughed and told them it would not be his. But it proved a perfect match. John McLaughlin, defending, said: "He is hoping a prosthetic leg will be available soon which will enable him to lead a more active life."

Has Jesus come to Martins Creek?

Buddies Alex Tadros and Scott Diehl spent Memorial Day weekend painting the interior of Tadros' restaurant, the Martins Creek Inn. Diehl used a sponge technique to give the walls a nice, soft look with a light brown shade far more warm and inviting than the old gray.

A job well done. But it wasn't until Tadros invited a couple of friends over to see the paint job that anyone realized the Lower Mount Bethel Township eatery suddenly had a new attraction: an image on the dining room wall that looks very much like the classic picture of a bearded, long-haired Jesus. "One of [my friends] said, 'You have something on the wall,'" Tadros recounted. "The other one says, 'It looks like Jesus.'"

You've undoubtedly heard these stories before: Jesus in a grilled cheese sandwich, Jesus in a potato chip, Jesus in a tree stump. The Virgin Mary also makes plenty of unexpected appearances. She showed up on a garage door in the Schuylkill County community of Minersville a few years back.

Cyclist smashes car window with helmet on Virginia highway

A motorcyclist took off his helmet and banged it against a car window until the glass broke in an incident on a Northern Virginia interstate Friday that state police described as road rage. The incident began about 8 a.m. amid stop-and-go traffic in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 66 in Prince William County, the police said.

A motorcyle was behind a 2005 Honda when the car braked suddenly, the police said. The motorcyle went around the car, through the space between the Honda and an adjacent vehicle, according to the police account. The motorcycle sideswiped the Honda on the passenger side, striking a mirror, police said. The car and the motorcycle pulled off the road and onto the shoulder in the Manassas area.

The motorcyclist got off his bike, took off his helmet and went up to the car, police said. As he yelled at the Honda’s driver, he began striking the driver side window with the helmet, according to police. It was struck several times and shattered, police said. Then, they said, the motorcyclist stopped and walked away. Police said Michael C. Edwards, 36, of Gainesville was taken into custody and charged with reckless driving, destruction of property and misdemeanor assault. They said he was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor cuts on his arm.