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The Nooz: Man holds up store with banana

A roundup of strange stories as reported by NBC News and NBC's network of local affiliates: A man holds up a convenience store with a banana; police bust a roving brothel  on a bus; and more.
/ Source: NBC News and msnbc.com

FREDERICK COUNTY, Md. — Frederick County sheriff’s deputies are looking for a man who attacked a convenience store clerk with a banana.

A man walked into a 7-Eleven store in Monrovia just after midnight Wednesday and demanded money. Investigators said that when the clerk refused, the man became so agitated that he started grabbing items off the counter.

He snatched up a banana and began hitting the clerk, the sheriff’s office said.

The clerk pulled out a knife, and the man with the banana split.

— WRC, Washington

Home for sale includes wife
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — A struggling single parent and real estate agent is trying to sell her house and find a husband. She’s auctioning off both her home and herself in a package deal on eBay and Craigslist.

Single parent Dee Traboscia has been divorced for eight years.  She had hoped to be remarried by now, so she is turning to the Internet for help.

In the ad, Traboscia writes:

“If you want to live the never ending dream and experience the real love, life and the romance you have always felt was a fairytale then this is the vibrant outstanding woman of your dreams! To sweep this European Loving Lady off her feet send in your application right now.”

She goes on to say that her four-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot home, which will be included in the deal, has “neutral colors, Berber carpet, and upgraded tile.”

Her eBay auction ends July 2 and asks for a starting bid of 99 cents with a shipping cost of $500,000.  The auction has not yet received any bids.

Traboscia says she has already been contacted by one man in Italy, who is arranging a trip to South Florida to visit her.

— WPTV, West Palm Beach, Fla.

Police bust ‘brothel on wheels’
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Miami Beach police said 75 people were arrested during a weekend prostitution sting, including several on a quarter-million-dollar luxury bus.

Investigators described the bus, which undercover detectives spotted cruising Miami Beach, as a “brothel on wheels.” When they boarded the bus, they saw five women servicing customers, police said.

“There were lap dances, friction dances and sexual acts,” an officer said in court.

Police said money was all over the bus.

“It was on the floor, it was on their G-strings, you name it,” a police officer said in court. “It was in the register. In 19 years, I’ve never seen this.”

— NBC News Channel

Half-eaten apple to fatten up fan’s wallet
A half-eaten apple tossed on the ground by golfer Tiger Woods will make someone very rich.

The apple was scooped up by a fan on the fairway of the 12th hole at the U.S. Open after Woods hit a tee shot. It went up for auction on eBay and got a winning bid of $36,000.

The fan who bent down to pick up the apple core said the money will go to his daughter’s college fund.

— WMAQ, Chicago

City changes mind, says take off your pantsAURORA, Colo. – In a turnaround, Aurora has rescinded its policy requiring lifeguards to wear pants.

Half the lifeguard staff at Aurora reservoir quit after the city required them to wear breakaway pants while on duty. Aurora said the policy was designed to protect its lifeguards against sun exposure and West Nile virus.

The lifeguards who quit said the new uniform could put swimmers’ lives at risk.

“It takes an average of four to five seconds to take the pants off to get into the water, or if we try to get into the water with the pants, it’s going to be dragging and we’re not going to really be able to swim and get them back to shore,” lifeguard Greg Huston said.

Pat Schuler, manager of the Open Space and Natural Resources Division of the Aurora Parks and Open Space Department, sent out a memo to all lifeguard employees Thursday.

It reads: “Effective immediately, lifeguards at the Aurora Reservoir are no longer required to wear long pants. The city and the department are always willing to examine our procedures to determine if they are effective. In this case, after re-evaluating the situation, we determined there are equally effective ways to help employees protect themselves.”

Aurora will still offer the breakaway pants to lifeguards who want to wear them. It will also provide employees mosquito repellent and educational information about West Nile.

— KUSA, Denver