All Blog Posts from Crimesider

NAIROBI, Kenya - The last time the Maersk Alabama was targeted by Somali pirates captain Richard Phillips was taken hostage and held at gunpoint for five days until he was freed in a daring raid.

This time, the U.S. flagged ship was ready to fight back from the first sign of trouble. Somali pirates took on the Maersk Alabama again Tuesday, but they were met by a private security force which repelled the assault with gunfire and a high-decibel noise device.

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TUSCUMBIA, Ala. - Police in Tuscumbia, Ala., are on the lookout for a noseless robber after a man got the tip of his nose bitten off, they say, while stealing around $100 in cash from a home.

Police said a man armed with a knife and small screwdriver entered a private home about 11:30 a.m. Monday in this small town 2 1/2 hours north west of Birgmingham. He fought with two men inside, police say, and one of them bit off the tip of his nose during the struggle.

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick was hospitalized in good condition Tuesday after being shot in the arm during an apparent robbery attempt at an off-campus apartment complex.

Brad Fisher, a spokesman for DCH Regional Medical Center, said the 6-foot-4, 306-pound defensive end from Elizabethtown, Ky., was in a regular room and likely would be released within a day.

"It's not life threatening," said Fisher. The bullet missed vital areas, he said.

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The calls have all been similar pranks: A frantic man urges hotel desk workers or guests to set off a fire sprinkler, sound an alarm or bust windows. It's always the same: Do it now!

And, authorities said Thursday, they did. Eight cases have been reported in four states in recent days, and authorities say felony charges could be filed against whoever is making the calls.

In Alabama, a Marine roused from his sleep got "knocked silly" by a blast of water after being persuaded to set off the sprinkler in his room; there was no fire.

A motel in Arkansas sustained $50,000 in damage when a worker fell for a similar ruse.

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ONBOARD HMCS WINNIPEG Canadian Naval helicopters thwarted an attack Friday by pirates in the Gulf of Aden on a U.S. cargo ship, the Maersk Virginia - from the same fleet as the Maersk Alabama, whose captain was held captive for four days in April.

CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar is aboard the Canadian warship HMCS Winnipeg, which first responded to a distress call by a Lebanese flagged cargo ship called the Maria K. The crew reported rocket propelled grenade fire from the pirates.

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BRISBANE, Australia (AP) - An American accused of drowning his wife during a honeymoon scuba diving trip to Australia's Great Barrier Reef was jailed Wednesday pending his trial for her alleged murder.

David Gabriel Watson, 32, of Birmingham, Alabama, arrived in the northeastern city of Brisbane early Wednesday of his own volition, ending the possibility of protracted court proceedings to extradite him from the United States.

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