It is every driver’s worst nightmare: A high bridge over a river collapses, sending drivers plunging into the waters far below. That nightmare came true for commuters in Minneapolis last week, when the I-35W bridge suddenly plummeted into the Mississippi River. Authorities here reassure Memphians that local bridges are safe, but as we drive across the aging Memphis-Arkansas Bridge or the 35-year-old Hernando DeSoto Bridge, that long journey just got a bit more nerve-wracking. After all, our bridges are much taller and longer than the bridge in Minneapolis, and the river here is a heckuva lot deeper.
A Raleigh man gets shot by his dog, but the dog didn’t mean it. We think. Apparently, the man left a loaded gun on a table, like people do, and his Great Dane bumped the table. The gun fell off, hit the floor, and discharged, hitting the man in the back. Bad dog!
The U.S. Attorney’s office is trying to claim that former senator John Ford’s $70,000 Rolex is now government property since it was part of a bribery payment. The whole issue is very complicated, but we have just one question. Who on earth wears a $70,000 wristwatch? Other than John Ford, we mean.
Greg Cravens
Just another day in West Memphis. A man holds up a Regions Bank by claiming that a cardboard box contains a bomb. He gets away with an undetermined amount of money but leaves the box behind. Police later discover it was empty. We’re wondering about the crime: Can they still charge him with armed robbery if his only weapon was a box?
