A Texas pizzeria’s unfortunate petty theft incident inadvertently uncovered another victim with its good-humored viral social media post.

Stone Oven Pizza in Wichita Falls took to Facebook when its tip jar money was stolen and offered up an auction to replace employees’ missing dollars.

The teenagers accused in the act left behind a cowboy hat, so the restaurant owners decided it would only be fitting to use the misplaced hat and recoup the proceeds.

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A Wichita Falls, Texas pizzeria’s unfortunate petty theft incident inadvertently uncovered another victim with their good-humored viral social media post. (Stone Oven Pizza)

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“Last night, our crew ran into an incident where some teenagers stole the tips out of the tip jar… However, luckily enough, they left this hat… We’re not a big fan of hats around here, however, we know the beautiful community of Wichita Falls is, and we would like to open up an auction… The highest bidder by Tuesday afternoon will win the prize of this authentic cowboy jicama-giga!” the post said.

The business said all proceeds from the auction would be split evenly between the three employees who lost their tips.

What the pizzeria didn’t expect was that the good-natured attempt would lead to the discovery of the hat’s true owner, which was not one of the teenagers.

An update to the original post showed that the same teens had broken into a man’s truck and stolen the hat from him.

PREGNANT WOMAN STABBED 14 TIMES IN FRONT OF YOUNG DAUGHTER OVER BAD PIZZA DELIVERY TIP: DEPUTIES

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The teenagers responsible left behind a cowboy hat and the restaurant owners decided it would only be fitting to use the misplaced hat and recoup the proceeds.

“While the owners of Stone Oven were prepared to meet this man in mutual combat to defend the wages of our team… It was the team members themselves that decided this man’s head was indeed looking cold… we will be returning the property to its’ rightful owner… do not worry the employees have been given $50 bonuses for altruism and compassion,” the update said, in part.

The restaurant then went on to boast that they were proud of their town and the support they received following the theft.

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In the same Long Beach hospital where she regularly volunteered with her rescued therapy dog, loved ones said hit-and-run victim Nikki Rash took her final breath with her Labrador Retriever, Gabby, right at her side.

Nikki, a 78-year-old Long Beach resident, died on Saturday, Jan. 4, from severe injuries that she sustained in a hit-and-run crash on Dec. 26 – and the suspect is still at large.

“The neck injury and brain injury she sustained, she was being kept alive on machines and so after 10 days we honored her health care directive,” said Nikki’s son, Chris Rash. “We let her go peacefully.”

Chris said his mother was only blocks away from her home in the Bixby Knolls neighborhood when she was T-boned by a driver who ran a red light.

According to the Long Beach Police Department’s report, officers responded around 4:45 p.m. to the intersection of California Avenue and San Antonio Drive on the day after Christmas.

Investigators found that after the crash, the male suspect briefly stepped out of his car, but quickly got back in and drove away. 

Officials have not released a suspect description, but his car is described as a tan-colored Toyota Avalon sedan. Surveillance video of the car showed notable front-end damage.

Police said that the victim, who family members identified as Nikki, declined medical treatment at the scene but transported herself to a medical facility a few hours after the crash.

“At that point in time, she was complaining of severe headache and neck pain,” said Chris. 

Chris told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo that when his family got to Nikki, she had no recollection of the collision after suffering a massive head injury.

The 78-year-old was in a coma after she underwent brain surgery and was placed on life support at Long Beach Memorial – one of the hospitals where Nikki’s former co-volunteer said she used to visit patients with her two rescue Labs, Dutch and Gabby.

“The nurses were very kind at the ICU,” said Andrew Lesser, president of Southern California Labrador Retriever Rescue (SCLRR). “They gave special permission for Nikki’s service dog Gabby to visit with her.”

Lesser said losing Nikki will be a heavy blow to SCLRR, an organization she volunteered for since 2013.

“This shouldn’t have happened,” said Lesser. “Somebody needs to pay for this. Whoever did this needs to pay.”

Nikki’s family is asking for witnesses to come forward and help police with their investigation.

“We also ask that the person who did this step up and take ownership of what they did,” said Chris. “They made a mistake and they need to step up.”

Police ask anyone who witnessed the collision or has information on the suspect to call Long Beach police detective Ashley Van Holland at 562-570-7355.  

Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.

Two wildly audacious films — Brady Corbet’s 215-minute postwar epic “The Brutalist” and Jacques Audiard’s Spanish language, genre-shifting trans musical “Emilia Perez” — won top honors at the 82nd Golden Globes on Sunday.

The Globes, which are still finding their footing after years of scandal and makeover, scattered awards around to a number of films. But the awards group put its strongest support behind a pair of movies that sought to defy easy categorization.

“The Brutalist” was crowned best film, drama, putting one of 2024’s most ambitious films on course to be a major contender at the Academy Awards. The film, shot in VistaVision and released with an intermission, also won best director for Corbet and best actor for Adrien Brody. In his acceptance speech, Corbet spoke about filmmakers needing approval on the final cut.

“I was told that this film was un-distributable,” said Corbet. “No one was asking for a three-and-half-hour film about a mid-century designer in 70mm. But it works.”

“Emilia Pérez” won best film, comedy or musical, elevating the Oscar chances of Netflix’s top contender. It also won best supporting actress for Zoe Saldaña, best song (“El Mal”) and best non-English language film. Audiard, the French director, made way for Karla Sofía Gascón, the film’s transgender star who plays a Mexican drug lord who undergoes gender affirming surgery, to speak on behalf of the film.

“The light always wins over darkness,” said Gascón, gesturing to her brightly orange dress. “You can maybe put us in jail. You can beat us up. But you never can take away our soul or existence or identity.”

“I am who I am. Not who you want.”

Demi wins her first Globe

Though the Globes audience was particularly starry, including nominees Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Angelina Jolie and Daniel Craig, most of the winners hailed from smaller, less seen films.

That included some surprises. One was Demi Moore’s win for best actress in a comedy or musical. Her comeback performance in “The Substance,” about a Hollywood star who resorts to an experimental process to regain her youth, landed the 62-year-old Moore her first Globe — a victory that came over the heavily favored Mikey Madison of “Anora.”

“I’m just in shock right now. I’ve been doing this a long time, like over 45 years, and this is the first thing I’ve ever won as an actor,” said Moore, who was last nominated by the Globes for a film role in 1991 for “Ghost.” “Thirty years ago, I had a producer tell me that I was a popcorn actress.”

Best actress, in a drama film, was an even bigger surprise. The Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres won for her performance in “I’m Still Here,” a based-on-a-true-story drama about a family living through the disappearance of political dissident Rubens Paiva in 1970s Rio de Janeiro. Torres dedicated the award to her mother, the great actor Fernanda Montenegro, who appears in “I’m Still Here,” too.

“She was here 25 years ago,” said Torres. “And this is like a proof that art can endure through life even through difficult moments.”

Best supporting actor in a musical or comedy went to Sebastian Stan for “A Different Man,” in which Stan plays a man with a deformed face who’s healed. Stan, who was also nominated for playing Donald Trump in “The Apprentice,” noted that both films were hard to get made.

“These are tough subject maters but these films are real and they’re necessary,” said Stan. “But we can’t be afraid and look away.”

Glaser lightly roasts the Globes

Comedian Nikki Glaser kicked off the Globes, with a promise: “I’m not here to roast you.”

But Glaser, a stand-up whose breakthrough came in a withering roast of Tom Brady, made her way around the ballroom of the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on Sunday picking out plenty of targets in an opening monologue she had worked out extensively in comedy clubs beforehand.

While Glaser might not have reached Tina Fey and Amy Poehler levels of laughs, the monologue was a winner, and a dramatic improvement over last year’s host, Jo Koy. Last year’s Globes, following a diversity and ethics scandal that led to the dissolution of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, were widely panned. But they delivered where it counted: Ratings rebounded to about 10 million viewers, according to Nielsen. CBS, who waded in after NBC dumped the Globes, signed up for five more years.

Hosting the Globes two weeks before the inauguration of Donald Trump, Glaser reserved perhaps her most cutting line for the entire room of Hollywood stars.

“You could really do anything … except tell the country who to vote for,” said Glaser. “But it’s OK, you’ll get ’em next time … if there is one. I’m scared.”

The Globes are now owned by Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, which acquired the award show from the now defunct Hollywood Foreign Press Association. However, more than a dozen former HFPA members are currently seeking to have the sale to Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions rescinded.

A win for ‘Wicked’

Unlike last year’s Oscar race, when “Oppenheimer” rolled, this year’s season has more uncertain, with a field of contenders. Most of the movies that are seen as having a chance — “Conclave,” “Emilia Perez,” “The Brutalist,” “Wicked” and “Anora” — came away with at least one award Sunday. The exception was Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or-winning “Anora,” which went home empty handed despite five nominations.

The Globes’ award for cinematic and box-office achievement went to Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked,” which has nearly collected $700 million in theaters. In a heavily arthouse Oscar field, “Wicked” is easily the biggest hit in the best picture mix. Accepting the award, Chu argued for “a radical act of optimism” in art.

Though few awards have been predictable this season, Kieran Culkin is emerging has the clear favorite for best supporting actor. Culkin won Sunday for his performance in Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain,” his second Globe in the past year following a win for the HBO series “Succession.” He called the Globes “basically the best date night that my wife and I ever have,” and then thanked her for “putting up what you call my mania.”

The papal thriller “Conclave” took best screenplay, for Peter Straughan’s script. “Flow,” the wordless Latvian animated parable about a cat in a flooded world, took best animated film, winning over studio blockbusters like “Inside Out 2” and “The Wild Robot.” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won best score for their thumping music for “Challengers.”

TV prizes

Most of the TV winners were oft-awarded series, including the Emmy champ “Shōgun.” It won four awards, including best drama series and acting wins for Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai and Tadanobu Asano. Other repeat winners were: “Hacks” (best comedy series, actress for Jean Smart), “The Bear” (Jeremy Allen White for best actor) and “Baby Reindeer” (best limited series).

Ali Wong won for best stand-up performance, Jodie Foster for “True Detective” and Colin Farrell for his physical transformation in “The Penguin.”

“I guess it’s prosthetics from here on out,” said Farrell.

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For more coverage of the 2025 Golden Globe Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/golden-globe-awards