Around the nation

Hairless mutt named ugliest dog

PETALUMA, Calif. — Elwood, a 2-year-old Chinese crested and Chihuahua mix, was crowned the world’s ugliest dog Friday, a distinction that delighted the New Jersey mutt’s owners.

Elwood, dark-colored and hairless — save for a mohawklike puff of white fur on his head — often is called “Yoda,” or “E.T.”

“I think he’s the cutest thing that ever lived,” said Elwood’s owner, Karen Quigley, of Sewell, N.J.

Elwood was competing for the second year at the annual ugly dog contest at the Marin-Sonoma County Fair. He placed second last year.

Beyond the regal title of ugliest dog, Elwood also earned a $1,000 reward for his owner.

Woman branded during attack

PHOENIX — A woman had the word “snitch” burned into her face with a branding iron in apparent retaliation for helping police in a domestic violence case, authorities said.

The brand singed into her flesh during a June 13 attack is 4 to 6 inches long and stretches across her left cheek from lip to earlobe, Mesa policeSgt. Chuck Trapani said Friday.

He declined to identify the 38-year-old woman.

Two suspects in the attack — James H. Standridge, 34, and, Jackie L. Getz, 26 — were arrested in a domestic violence case in February 2006 after the woman answered officers’ questions about them. The investigation later led to the removal of a child from the home because of drug paraphernalia.

Dislodged hydrant kills pedestrian

OAKLAND, Calif. — A sport utility vehicle crashed into a fire hydrant, which shot like a “bullet,” striking and killing a man walking nearby, police said.

Humberto Hernandez, 24, was walking with his wife Thursday evening when a 2007 Ford Escape blew a tire and swerved onto the sidewalk, striking the hydrant, police said.

Water pressure and the impact of the crash sent the hydrant flying like a “bullet,” said Phil Abrams, an Alameda County deputy sheriff.

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