A cocker spaniel called Terry has been unmasked and arrested in relation to her organisation of several high-profile crimes around the Paragon Heights area. Terry, who was known as "Big Dog Bowow" among criminal circles, is suspected of attempting to start a new criminal gang using the proceeds of several jewellery store robberies that she had organised.

Terry had been owned by the Wallace family since she had been picked-up from the dog pound as one of last year's Christmas presents. Mr Wallace, who wishes to remain unnamed for privacy's sake, said, "I got her as a present for my daughter - Terry was very cute and always had a spark in her eyes. It was after I'd got her home that I noticed something strange."

"Things started to go missing, like silverware, only to be found in the dog house and often missing the most valuable items gone. Then there were the unexplained phone calls that started to bulk out our phone bill - I thought my daughter was doing it! It was only when I found that string of pearls under Terry's sleeping mat that I realised what was going on."

It is believed that Terry anonymously hired henchmen to pull off the capers she had planned and collected her cut from the proceedings. The loot from these crimes was then allegedly being put towards financing a new criminal organisation that would have attempted to benefit from Paragon City's currently weakened state.

Possibilities exist that Terry may be one of the "uberdogs" developed by the now-deceased villain The Hound in a failed attempt to take over Paragon City several years ago.

Terry's lawyers have declined to comment on this topic based on their client's instructions.

The hero in question wishes to remain anonymous due to the potential harm this article could do to his/her crime fighting career.

A brand of cola may rob heroes of their superpowers as a side effect, claims an up-and-coming Paragon City hero.

This unnamed hero claims that the belching caused by the carbonated cola drink renders his/her stealth powers useless. The hero says. "I tried to stop, but the stuff is addictive."

The hero rambled on for some time about all of his/her problems without pausing, so he/she could not be asked more specific questions. It appears the hero has problems sleeping, shakes uncontrollably and has tooth decay on top of the belching problem. It took hours just to get a disjointed story out of the hero due to his/her repeated visits to the bathroom.

The hero is quoted saying. "If the villains find out I have a weakness like this they'll use it against me." You can almost picture a gang of thugs holding up cans of fizzing soda saying "Do you want some dude!" as they loot the corner store.

When asked why he/she does not just switch to drinking tea or coffee, the only answer received was an odd look. Mental degradation may also be a side effect of drinking caffeine and sugar rich soda.

This reporter callously forgot the journalist code for a second and attempted to joke with the Hero about his/her apparently having super speed powers. The hero commented. "It's the caffeine! I don't have super speed powers." I quickly apologized for the remark. This did not calm the hero who walked out of my office as silent as a ghost... until a loud belch startled a few people in the hallway who did not realize the hero had walked up behind them.

The soft drink company not mentioned in this article said that they could not comment about the case at this time.

The list of books most stolen from Paragon Libraries has just been released, with magic titles being the subject of the most theft. Making up the top ten list are five magic tomes, three technical books, a self-help book (of sorts) and a risque photograph collection.

The top ten list is:

• Magic for Morons by Howard Stone and Arkane the Soulbinder.
• Bringing Back The Dead (But Leave Elvis Alone) by HexxBlakk.
• Magic - The Charles Atlas Way by Charles Atlas.
• Building & Repairing Battle Armour by Ironclad.
• Heroism Unbound: Intimate Photography of the Superpowered by Marcos Fanzetta.
• (Re-)Building that Empire, One Step At A Time by Maxximillian Eeville.
• Voodoo for Revenge and Profit by Kajun Momma Meb.
• Massively Destructive Weapons You Can Build At Home! by David "Fix-It" Floud.
• Create Your Own Artifact of Power by Paiselle Shutz.
• So You Want To... Tranform Your Body Using Cybernetics from CybOrganisation Inc.

Francine Connors of the Paragon Library System says that most thieves seem to come from two categories: wannabe heroes or wannabe villains. "Usually it's teenage boys who get caught taking the books, with the odd teenage girl or even young adult. A lot of the time these books are also the most photocopied as well."

"One of the nice things is that the magic books often bring themselves back, which really cuts down on the cost of buying replacements," said Miss Connors.

People found guilty of stealing library books are liable for fines of up to $1000 and up to 100 hours of community service per book stolen. They are also responsible for any damage wreaked by the book while it is in their possession.