In the news

■ Natasha Aponte used the Tinder dating app to get more than 100 men to show up at Manhattan’s Union Square to compete for a date with her, disqualifying some because of their height or names, and then having the others perform push-ups and footraces.

■ Curtis DeLapp, 51, a district judge in Washington County, Okla., resigned rather than face abuse-of-power claims after being accused of improperly jailing more than 200 people for contempt of court, including one woman who spent four days in jail for eating sunflower seeds in court.

■ Dany Cotton, the first woman to lead the London Fire Brigade, wants the media to stop depicting firefighters as hunky sex objects, saying it deters women from joining the profession by reinforcing “the misconception that all firefighters are muscle-bound men.”

■ John Wakefield of Delaware Tag Traders said a bidder paid $410,000 at auction for a Delaware license plate bearing the number “20,” exceeding expectations and surpassing the $325,000 spent on the number “14” plate three years ago.

■ Craig Smith of Mount Olive AME Zion Church in Waterbury, Conn., said some congregation members prayed for a burglar after he stole $3,000 worth of electronics and left a note that read “Pray 4 Me!! Sorry brothers. Save me.”

■ Mark Spicer, 23, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and a co-defendant were arrested in Myrtle Beach, S.C., in a human trafficking case after, an affidavit says, they posted an online ad offering a 16-year-old girl for sex and subsequent sex acts took place in five states.

■ Christine Hallquist, a transgender Democrat who is running for Vermont governor, said she isn’t publicizing her appearances or the location of her campaign office because of death threats and other personal attacks she’s receiving because of her candidacy.

■ Paul Cannette, 49, the former security chief for the Biloxi, Miss., School District, pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $169,000 from a school resource officer association and is expected to serve four years in prison and then two years of house arrest.

■ Lupe Valdez, a former sheriff who left office to run for Texas governor and then faced questions about the whereabouts of her service revolver, got an apology from the Dallas County sheriff’s office for “any distress and hardship” caused, after an inventory search turned up the weapon.