Free Republic

When the L.A. Marathon takes place Sunday, one of the runners will attempt to set the record for the heaviest person ever to complete a marathon. Kelly Gneiting of Fort Defiance, Arizona, weighs about 400 pounds. “I am a sumo wrestler and I’ve represented the United States for the last seven years at the World Sumo Championships or World Games,” he said at a news conference Saturday at Dodger Stadium. “I don’t think anyone has used the word `marathon’ and `sumo’ in the same sentence,” he said. “I like the aspect of the two opposite-spectrum sports — sumo and marathon...

CBS) LOS ANGELES A 400-lb. man shot several times in the parking lot of Tommy's Original Hamburger downtown, might have survived his wounds because he is overweight, according to a Los Angeles police sargeant. The shooting outside Tommy's Original Hamburger at 2575 W. Beverly Blvd. occurred about 1:10 a.m., said Sgt. Melvin Gamble of the Rampart Station. The victim, a man whose name was withheld, was struck "several times" in the stomach and once in the leg, Gamble said. He was taken to a hospital where he was reported to have stable vital signs. The man got into a dispute...

400 pounds of blasting material taken from storage depot in New Mexico... Four men, including two brothers, were taken into custody Friday by federal authorities ... Federal authorities have said it was enough to flatten a large building... said Tom Mangan, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal authorities were processing a crime scene... 150 pounds of C-4, 250 pounds of sheet explosives, 20,000 feet of detonator cord and 2,500 blasting caps. This breaking news story will be updated.