DETROIT, Mich. — A woman in Detroit was recently given a new reason to call her brassiere a “wonder bra” when it deflected a bullet, likely saving her life.

The unidentified 57-year-old was looking out her window during a break-in at her neighbor’s house when the intruders fired at her. The bullet hit the underwire in her bra and failed to pierce her skin.

The woman sustained minor injuries and was treated at a nearby hospital.

AUSTRALIA — An Australian newspaper office was given an unexpected surprise earlier this week when a live shark was found on its doorstep.

A local resident of Warrnambool, a town on the southeast coast, discovered the juvenile Port Jackson shark, measuring about 27 inches, after leaving a McDonald’s. The man realized that the shark was alive by its gill movement, so he went to the police station to report the marine animal outside The Warrnambool Standard.

Police responded, and after pouring water on the shark to verify that it was still alive, put it in a bucket of water borrowed from the McDonald’s. They returned it to the ocean, where it swam away.

Employees of The Warrnambool Standard are unaware why anyone would leave a shark on their doorstep, but authorities have vowed to charge the responsible party with animal cruelty.

TOKYO, Japan — Japanese police have arrested one of Japan’s most clean-cut television stars for public indecency.

Tsuyoshi Kusangai, 34, of the pop group SMAP, was found drunk and naked in a public park early Thursday morning, shrieking at the top of his lungs.

SMAP, a popular boy band from 20 years ago, has seen continued fame in monopolizing Japanese television, appearing in drama, variety and cooking shows.

Advertisers are concerned about the exploits of Kusangai, whose trademark has been his clean image. Toyota Motor Corp. is pulling commercials that feature Kusangai, and the minister of communications has expressed displeasure since Kusangai was the face of the campaign for the Japanese switch to digital television.

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. — A sparrow recently demonstrated an additional danger of cigarettes after a shop was set on fire.

Crescent Stores faced approximately $365,000 damage from a fire that baffled investigators. Six weeks after the fire, insurance investigators reported 35 cigarette butts on the roof. It is believed that these butts were collected by a sparrow to line its nest, and that a cigarette that was not extinguished all the way sparked the blaze when put in the nest, which presumably acted as tinder.

This is believed to be the first time a bird has lit a building on fire by leaving lit cigarettes in its bed.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC — A movement to ban silly names is being initiated by Dominican Republic Judge Jose Angel Aquinas.

Aquinas’ efforts would limit names to three words, with the words being non-vulgar and gender-indicative. This move would also prohibit naming children after political figures.

Other judges from the Caribbean country believe this is a violation of the right to liberty, but do support educating parents on the consequences of names such as Dear Pineapple, Breast and Dummy, Mazda, and Winston Churchill de la Cruz.

This is the second effort in the Dominican Republic to regulate names; the first attempt was rejected two years ago.

Reach columnist Matt Jackson at news@dailyuw.com.