As election season heats up, it’s important for candidates to focus on what’s important – their waistlines.

Dean Hrbacek, seeking the Republican nomination for a Texas congressional seat, sent out a mailer to voters with his head digitally attached to a thinner body.

Hrbacek’s campaign manager said the candidate’s been too busy to pose for a full-length picture, prompting his people use a scaled-down version.

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Not dead yet.

Cops in Lithuania arrested a woman for shoplifting – only to discover she was officially registered as deceased.

Natalya Pavlova was mistakenly identified by her parents as a body found in a forest after she disappeared in November.

Turns out the 27-year-old had been living with her boyfriend in the same town.

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These college students must make their parents proud.

A group of coeds at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, are asking a local gym to remove video and music they find too sexually suggestive.

Five student organizations submitted a petition to Gold’s Gym, asking that R-rated movies not be played on TVs, music not contain sexually explicit lyrics, and blinds be installed on aerobic-room windows to block the sight of people dancing “provocatively.”

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Scoping out the neighborhood first might have helped a hapless thief.

The robber in Edmonton, Alberta, tried to rip off a liquor store, but was caught by cops stationed at the precinct directly across the street.

The ski-masked man walked into the store and demanded cash. When the clerk refused, the man grabbed a few bottles and fled the store right into the waiting arms of cops.

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That’s definitely what you’d call used, ghoulish goods.

A human skull went on sale at a flea market in Belgrade, Serbia.

Although it was a popular attraction in the capital city, the body part did not have any buyers.

The asking price was about $150.

Tim Perone, Wire Services