Two homeless men who say they were paid to hurt themselves and beat each other for a video sold on the Internet filed suit Wednesday against the filmmakers, who also face criminal charges.

Donald Brennan and Rufus Hannah say the makers of "Bumfights: A Cause for Concern" took advantage of their alcoholism to persuade them to ram their heads into steel doors and signs and get "Bumfights" tattoos in bold letters across their hands and foreheads.

"When you're drinking for 20 years as I have, when you don't have a beer in your hand you would do anything to get one," said Brennan, who bears a "Bumfight" tattoo on his forehead in bold red letters and others on his arms and belly. "Who in their right minds is going to run their heads into a sign?"
[more: salon.com]

Teen Suffers Burns After Setting Own Shorts On Fire

A Roselle teenager suffered second-degree burns during a game with two other boys where they would splash gasoline on their pants, set them on fire, then try to put them out.

[more: msnbc]

Police are asking businesses to voluntarily participate in a program to take customers' fingerprints if they pay by check.

Operation Thumbs Up, scheduled to begin citywide Sunday, aims to help authorities identify check theft and forgery by obtaining a source of identification that can't be stolen or faked - fingerprints. The system is similar to those used by banks that require fingerprints on checks.

"No longer can we rely on the driver's license as a valid form of identity when passing a check," Detective Kyle Gibson said. "We can't expect clerks to memorize every face in a line. By getting a print, we can place that person when the check was passed to get a successful prosecution."

[more: dfw.com]
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