The good

The sixth annual Helping Hands From Local Heroes event that took place on Dec. 13 was a huge success, serving more than 70 kids and raising more than $7,000 this year, according to Sgt. James L. Butler of the Third Watch Patrol Services Bureau. Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central Iowa selected the children from participants in their respective program to shop with a public safety official who is provided a $100 gift card for the child. The initiative is for children to purchase items for another family member and/or friend rather than themselves. The Des Moines Police Bargaining Unit Association (DMPBU) and the Des Moines Police Burial Association (DMPBA) graciously provided a combined total of $5,000. The Magnolia Park Neighborhood Association, Wal-Mart and several other private donors assisted to ensure this event was possible again this year. Additionally, Old Country Buffett once again partnered with event organizers to provide free buffet meals for the children and their volunteers working this event. Merry Christmas, indeed.

Don’t you hate it when you have the TV volume turned up for your favorite show, but at every commercial break, the ads blare at offensive decibels, much louder than the program you are actually watching? This especially sucks when you have lost your remote control, and you have to get up to manually turn the volume up and down at every commercial break. Well, excessively loud TV commercials will soon be a thing of the past, thanks to the Federal Communications Commission. In response to years of complaints about this, the FCC recently passed the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act to make sure that the sound level is the same for commercials and news and entertainment programming. The Act comes a year after Congress passed legislation regarding commercial volume and directed the FCC to come up with enforcement rules. Thanks for actually listening, legislators.

The bad

Note to men out there, if you’re going to get a penis enhancement, go see a doctor. New Jersey native Kasia Rivera, 34, was arrested last week after she botched a penis enhancement, which led to the man’s death a day later. According to police, Justin Street, 22, went to Rivera’s home seeking penile help. Rivera injected silicone into Street’s penis which caused a fatal blood clot. Rivera was booked into jail and charged with manslaughter and unauthorized practice of medicine.

This criminal picked the wrong guy to rob. Chicago resident Anthony Miranda, 24, was recently arrested after he tried to rob a man with horrible results. According to police, Miranda walked up to the victim’s car, asked for a lighter, then pulled a handgun and demanded money. After the driver handed Miranda some cash, he ordered him out of the vehicle. As the driver exited the vehicle, he grabbed Miranda’s gun and wrestled it away, but not before Miranda accidentally shot himself in the leg. The victim then delivered his own brand of justice, leaving Miranda with quite a few bumps and bruises. When officers arrived, they discovered the victim was actually a professional mixed martial arts fighter. Miranda was charged with armed robbery and aggravated discharge of a firearm.

The ugly

Methamphetamine causes people to do some stupid things, but an Oklahoma woman might have done the dumbest thing in the history of meth-related crimes, and this white trash stereotype couldn’t be truer. Elizabeth Alisha Greta Halfmoon, 45, was arrested last week after she tried to make methamphetamine in a Wal-Mart. According to police, security reported a woman had been in the store for six hours trying to manufacture meth in the store. Security stated that Halfmoon gathered liquid drain cleaner, lighter fluid, lithium batteries and other products before trying to mix them together on a store shelf. Halfmoon was arrested and charged with attempting to manufacture methamphetamine.

This bully will get doses of his own medicine in jail. Pennsylvania resident Brandon Bishop, 25, was arrested last week after admitting to beating his wife’s 2-year-old daughter because “she was a spoiled princess and needed to toughen up.” According to officials, a relative called police after noticing that the girl was limping and had clumps missing out of her hair. After questioning Bishop, he admitted to beating the girl for three months. Bishop was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. CV