AWOL G.I. BUSTED IN GREAT PUMPKIN HEIST
BENTLEYVILLE, Pa. — A soldier accused of deserting the Army and two other men tried to steal a 200-pound pumpkin from a grocery store, state police said. A trooper on patrol early Thursday saw a pickup truck driving fast out of the store parking lot with two men drinking beer in the truck bed next to the giant gourd, police said. One of the three men, Jordan Ivill, was arrested on a warrant accusing him of leaving the base at Fort Benning, Ga., without leave, police said. Summons charging the two other men will be mailed to them, police said. Ivill, 20, of Bentleyville, was in the Washington County Correctional Facility on $50,000 bond. The pumpkin was returned to the store, where it had been on display. [via ASSOCIATED PRESS]*
DUDE-ROCK DUDES GET VAN RIPPED AFTER FILLMORE GIG
Strung Out, who played the Fillmore at the TLA (South below 4th) Thursday night, is the latest band whose van and gear were ripped off in Philly. Its blue Ford E-150 with California plates, ESP guitars and basses, Mapex drums and Krank/Mesa amps as well as personal effects and a trailer of merchandise were stolen at 7:30 a.m. Thursday from the Days Inn (E. Roosevelt Blvd. at Whitaker) parking lot. Drummer Jordan Burns told us the theft occurred 20 minutes after the band checked in. He hopes anyone with info on the van or gear will contact police at 215-686-3020. [via DAN GROSS]*
GOOGLE TEASES DETAILS OF NEW G-UNIT, AKA THE G-PHONE
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 7 — For more than two years, a large group of engineers at Google has been working in secret on a mobile phone project. As word about their efforts has trickled out, expectations in the tech world for what has been called the Google phone, or GPhone, have risen, the way they do for Apple loyalists ahead of a speech by Steven P. Jobs. But the GPhone is not likely to be the second coming of the iPhone — and Google’s goals are very different from Apple’s. Google wants to extend its dominance of online advertising to the mobile Internet, a small market today, but one that is expected to grow rapidly. [via NEW YORK TIMES]