QUIRKY WORLD... US teen carries brother on his back in 64km trek

A Michigan teenager carrying his seven-year-old brother on his back has battled heat, rain, fatigue, and more to finish a 64km walk to raise awareness about cerebral palsy.

Hunter Gandee, 14, walked from his junior high school not far from the Ohio border to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He carried his brother, Braden, throughout the two-day journey. When they strolled up a winding road towards the university’s wrestling centre, Braden was asked how he felt, and said simply: “Tired.”

Hunter acknowledged there was talk of stopping the walk at around the 48km mark due to chafing on his brother’s legs. Called the Cerebral Palsy Swagger, the trek’s goal was to raise awareness about cerebral palsy and to put a face on the neurological disorder.

Teen jailed after arrest in $240K car

USA: A California teenager has been jailed after being arrested on suspicion of using stolen credit cards to rent a $240,000 (€176,000) sports car and a $12m holiday home.

Mohanned Halaweh, 19, was arrested after he was pulled over while driving the 2012 McLaren coupe he had rented for $13,000 and was subsequently reported stolen by its owner, Sonoma County Sheriff’s Sgt Michael Raasch said

Halaweh also paid $27,000 to rent an estate in Glen Ellen, Raasch said.

Prosecutors have charged him with four felonies — credit card fraud, receiving stolen property, identity theft, and vehicle theft — along with an aggravated charge of being in possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Another 19-year-old man who was a passenger in the McLaren was also arrested and could face charges, Raasch said.

The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat identified Halaweh as a former standout basketball player at a Sebastopol high school. In March, he was charged with allegedly using a fake credit card to try to buy 14 iPhones and two laptop computers at an Apple Store in Berkeley, the Press-Democrat said.

Halaweh is being held at the Sonoma County jail on $100,000 bail.

OCEAN TRIP

ENGLAND: Installing a fish tank for reality TV star Peter Andre has led a man to try to row 3,800km single-handed across the Pacific to raise funds for the showman’s charity.

Daryl Farmer, 39, from East Grinstead, West Sussex, said he was inspired to take on the endurance challenge after hearing stories from other adventurers such as rowers Roz Savage and James Cracknell and he wants to raise money for Andre’s foundation in support of Cancer Research.

They met in 2013 in an aquatic supplies shop when the Australian star just happened to walk in.

They got talking, Farmer ended up installing his fish tank for him, and the two became friends. Andre later set up his foundation in memory of his brother Andrew who died from kidney cancer

Miss USA beauty pageant is a black belt

USA: Nia Sanchez, a 24-year-old 4th degree black belt in tae kwon do from Nevada, was crowned Miss USA during the 63rd TV broadcast of the annual beauty pageant. Sanchez, who wore an intricate red gown during the latter part of the three-hour nationally broadcast contest, addressed the issue of sexual assault on college campuses during a question-and-answer session faced by all six finalists.

Sanchez said she felt some colleges, fearing a bad reputation, might sweep the problem under the carpet, and that “more awareness [of the issue] is very important so that women can learn to protect themselves”.

She added that, as a 4th degree black belt, she learned “you need to be confident and be able to defend yourself. That’s something we need to start to implement for a lot of women.”