http://www.nydailynews.com/news/story/54470p-51046c.htmlPot brownies a real hit at HS b'day
By MARTIN MBUGUA, EDWARD BARRERA and MAKI BECKER
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
It was a birthday party that went to pot.
Lee Friedman, who turned 17 yesterday, decided to celebrate his big day by sharing marijuana-laced brownies with some fellow students at his Manhattan high school, police said.
But the festivities went awry when six Fiorello LaGuardia High School students, ranging in age from 15 to 19, began feeling dizzy after eating the extra-special fudgy treats and went to the school nurse.
"I saw about five students getting all dizzy," said John Frank, 16, a junior at the upper West Side arts school.
Four of the students were taken to St. Luke's Hospital, where they were treated and released, hospital officials said.
Expensive eats
One student refused medical attention from paramedics, and the sixth disappeared, according to a law enforcement source.
Several of the stricken students identified Friedman as the birthday boy who peddled the brownies for $8 a pop.
At least four of the students submitted to urine tests, the source said.
Friedman was arrested yesterday afternoon and charged with selling marijuana to a minor, a felony. He was also slapped with one count of endangering the welfare of a child.
Georgette Chung, another student at LaGuardia, said drug deals are common on campus.
"I see it happening all the time," she said.
Police were looking for another student last night who they believe may have helped Friedman sell the brownies.
Originally published on January 25, 2003
17:52 Posted by David
http://www.yankton.net/stories/012503/new_20030125022.shtml Bestiality May Become Felony Under Bill
BY JOE KAFKA
Associated Press Writer
PIERRE -- South Dakota legislators took the first step Friday toward approving a law that will make it illegal to have sex with animals.
The bill, endorsed 8-4 by the House Judiciary Committee, would make bestiality a felony punishable by up to two years in prison. Previously convicted sex offenders who use animals for sexual gratification could be locked up for five years, and all found guilty of bestiality would be required to check with police once a year as registered sex offenders.
Rep. Tom Hennies, R-Rapid City, said he offered the bill to protect not only animals but also people. The former police chief said law enforcement training about sex crimes indicates that those who sexually molest animals often progress to similar or even worse crimes against people.
Hennies gave the example of a window peeper whose sexual desires eventually lead to rape and possibly even murder.
ŒŒDeviant behavior escalates,'' Hennies said. ŒŒSociety needs to be protected.''
The bill was prompted by two incidents last year in Pennington County, the Republican lawmaker said, adding that the details were so sick he did not care to publicly discuss them.
Rep. Thomas Deadrick, R-Platte, was not convinced bestiality should be a felony. Voting against the bill, he suggested that such a crime instead be made a misdemeanor. The maximum sentence for a misdemeanor is one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Passage of HB1061, which next goes to the full House, would rank bestiality with other sex crimes, such as rape, incest, child pornography, running a prostitution ring and pedophilia.
19:37 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Palm Beach County Sued Over Park GoosePalm Beach County Sued Over Park Goose
Sat Jan 25, 9:54 AM ET Add Strange News - AP to My Yahoo!
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A woman who says she was attacked by a 3-foot-tall goose is suing the county, claiming it shouldn't have allowed the bird to roam free in a public park.
Darlene Griffin, 30, claimed the goose lunged at her son Feb. 5 while he was standing near a pond in Okeeheelee Park. Griffin, a medical assistant, said she jumped in between the goose and her son — and the bird bit her in the foot.
"He was squawking at me and he looked like he was coming at me again," she said.
Griffin claims she fell down while fighting with the animal and broke her tailbone.
The lawsuit asserts the goose had a history of being territorial and aggressive, but the county did not have any warning signs posted.
In its response Jan. 8, the county said it had no duty to warn people of the obvious conditions at the park.
Eric Call, the county's assistant parks director, said the goose was removed from the park after the incident. A few months later, the county hired a trapper to remove 22 geese because they had become unruly.
19:37 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Man Is Accused of Stalking by SatelliteMan Is Accused of Stalking by Satellite
Sat Jan 25, 9:55 AM ET Add Strange News - AP to My Yahoo!
KENOSHA, Wis. - A man accused of using a satellite tracking device to trace the movements of his ex-girlfriend after their breakup entered an innocent plea Thursday to stalking and other charges.
Paul A. Seidler, 42, of Kenosha was denied a request for his release on signature bond.
He remained held in lieu of $50,000 bond on charges of felony burglary, second-degree reckless endangerment and stalking.
Connie Adams testified at an earlier hearing in Kenosha County Circuit Court that Seidler stalked her relentlessly for months with the aid of a global positioning system (news - web sites) device that police later found planted under the hood of her car.
She said the system recorded her movements — to work, on dates, shopping and even to buy gasoline — and Seidler would show up wherever she went.
19:35 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - China Supermarket Sale Stampede Kills TwoChina Supermarket Sale Stampede Kills Two
Thu Jan 23,10:06 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!
BEIJING (Reuters) - Two people were trampled to death and 15 injured in a stampede by a huge crowd which stormed a newly opened supermarket in northern China offering big bargains, an official newspaper reported Thursday.
The China Daily said 50,000 people swamped the Hualian supermarket last Friday in the Inner Mongolian city of Baotou. Local police and hospital officials confirmed the incident but had no figures for casualties or crowd numbers.
The deadly rush in Baotou was not an isolated case. When the Beijing-based Hualian chain opened a store in Inner Mongolia's capital of Hohhot last July, 100,000 people turned out and 20 were injured, the Shenzhen Evening News said.
And the China Daily said police canceled a Lunar New Year sale last week at a department store in the northeastern city of Harbin over crowd control concerns.
The Lunar New Year falls on February 1, when the Year of the Horse gives way to the Year of the Goat in the Chinese zodiac, and the government has declared a week-long holiday.
Tens of millions of people are on the move to get home to celebrate with their families. Many will spend time shopping.
19:35 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Heartbroken by Divorce, Man Burns Family AssetsHeartbroken by Divorce, Man Burns Family Assets
Thu Jan 23,10:05 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A Swedish man, desolate after his wife filed for divorce, converted the family's shares and mutual funds into cash and burned the money -- $81,300, a newspaper reported Thursday.
"Bitterness is not uncommon in connection with divorces but it is almost unique that one of the spouses puts fire to all their wealth," Bengt Svensson, public prosecutor in the town of Jonkoping in southern Sweden, told the daily Aftonbladet.
19:33 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Man Beating Dog With Gun Shoots HimselfMan Beating Dog With Gun Shoots Himself
Sat Jan 25,11:58 AM ET Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!
WINCHESTER, Va. - A man trying to beat his dog to death with a gun was fatally wounded when it apparently went off accidentally, police said.
Raymond Poore Jr., 43, called his wife at work Thursday and told her that their dog had bitten him and he intended to kill the animal, police Capt. David Sobonya said.
The wife came home about 6 p.m. and found her husband unconscious, with a number of dog bites and scratches. Emergency medical personnel discovered that Poore had been shot. He was pronounced dead at Winchester Medical Center.
Sobonya said Poore must have beaten the 30-pound shar-pei with the gun that went off. He said the stock of the weapon, a combination rifle and shotgun, was broken and there appeared to be blood and dog hair on it.
The dog was in the custody of an animal control officer. Sobonya had no detail on how badly it was injured.
16:24 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Man Tries to Sell His Family on eBayMan Tries to Sell His Family on eBay
Mon Jan 13, 7:53 AM ET
LOS ANGELES - Writer Steve Young may be able to peddle his prose, but when it came to selling his family, the father of two couldn't cash in on the $5 million offer.
After reading about the online sale of a struggling town in Humboldt County, Young decided to put his wife and kids on the auction block.
"If a town could be sold online, then how much could you get for a family?" Young said.
After consulting with wife Diana, and their two children, Kelly, 9, and Casey, 8, Young said he posted the ad Thursday on eBay and received more than 10,000 hits within minutes.
But when eBay operators heard about the auction early Friday, they yanked the ad, saying it is against company policy to sell human beings.
"People have tried to sell themselves five or six times over the past four or five years," said eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove. "There have been attempts to sell their nephew, uncle, wife, whoever is in the doghouse at the time. They've even tried to sell their soul."
Young said the auction winner would receive a lifetime of platonic companionship, including invitations to family outings and holiday gatherings as well as tips on writing, gardening and cooking. The minimum bid was $5 million.
The family was willing to relocate anywhere, and the elder Youngs would change their surname.
"You have patrons of the arts, museums and charities. I wanted a patron for my family," he said.
16:23 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - City Bans Smelly People From BusesCity Bans Smelly People From Buses
Mon Jan 13, 7:56 AM ET
BEND, Ore. - You better hit the shower before you board the bus in Bend.
Proposed new city rules would ban spitting, smoking, skateboarding, and stinking on city buses.
The regulations ban anyone who "emanates a grossly repulsive odor that is unavoidable by other Bend Extended Area Transit customers" from being in the bus station or on a bus.
"It's an effort to keep the riding experience as pleasant and safe as possible," said city attorney Jim Forbes. He noted that the city already has an ordinance prohibiting people from releasing "highly objectionable odors" from their property.
The City Council will consider preliminary approval of the ordinance Wednesday.
The city's transit system is currently reservations-based. Last year, the city expanded the transit service for seniors and the disabled into a service for the general public, but no scheduled routes have been established.
16:22 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Amtrak Trains to Offer Riders MassagesAmtrak Trains to Offer Riders Massages
Mon Jan 13, 7:59 AM ET
OAKLAND, Calif. - Amtrak riders headed toward Sacramento will be offered a new relaxing amenity on board the train — dollar-a-minute neck and shoulder massages.
Starting on Jan. 13, certified massage therapists will be on board train 538 Monday through Thursday as part of a new pilot program. Passengers interested in rub downs will sit in special massage chairs in the lower level of one of the cars. Train 538 departs Oakland at 3:30 p.m. and travels to Sacramento.
This is the first time massage therapy has been offered on Amtrak trains in the West. The program is scheduled to end on Feb. 6, but if it is successful, it may be continued beyond that date.
16:22 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Mousetrap Sparks Fla. Airport EvacuationMousetrap Sparks Fla. Airport Evacuation
Mon Jan 13, 3:22 PM ET
TAMPA, Fla. - A section of the Tampa airport was evacuated Monday after baggage screeners spotted a "very, very suspicious" object on an X-ray monitor. It turned out to be a mousetrap inside a coffee can. The ticketing area was evacuated for about 45 minutes and several flights were delayed briefly. A bomb squad used a robot to remove the object from the bag.
"When you looked at the monitor, it had all these wires and looked very, very suspicious," said Chris Rhatigan, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration.
Airport spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan said airport police and TSA officials were talking with the bag's owner. No immediate charges were filed.
The federal government began requiring the screening of all baggage on Jan. 1.
16:20 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Hit-And-Run Teenager Takes Dead Man HomeHit-And-Run Teenager Takes Dead Man Home
Fri Jan 10, 7:54 AM ET
VILNIUS (Reuters) - A teenage Lithuanian hit-and-run driver thought he was in the clear once he got home -- only to discover the pedestrian he had knocked down was still under the car.
The unlicensed 18-year-old was shocked to see a man's feet sticking out from under his father's Audi, the daily Lietuvos Rytas reported Friday.
Police were able to identify the remains of the 64-year-old victim, who they said had been drunk and was probably lying in the middle of the street when the car struck him.
"But it goes to show why this kid has failed the driver's test four times," said Stasys Meliunas, chief of police in the town of Rokiskis.
16:19 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Motorist Runs Up Immense Parking BillMotorist Runs Up Immense Parking Bill
Mon Jan 13, 9:45 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - A woman in Scotland has emerged as one of the world's most prolific parking offenders.
The so-far unnamed driver has forked out a staggering $19,300 in fines over the past three years, but still carries on leaving her car on Glasgow's main square almost every day without paying.
A year's season ticket to the nearby car park costs just 1,800 pounds.
A Glasgow City Council spokesman told Reuters the woman owes a further 8,000 pounds on each of her two family cars.
"She wouldn't bother to go to the ticket machine and she would get the penalty notice slapped on her windshield. She would ignore that... She would just ignore everything," he said.
A sizeable part of the money owed results from the cost of sending enforcement officers to her house, he added.
Drivers must pay to park in the city's George Square, a policy designed to ensure a high turnover of spaces for people making short visits to the city's Victorian commercial center.
"She's clogging it up all day long," the spokesman said, adding: "We are determined to pursue people like her."
16:17 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Man Uses Coupons to Try to Buy Car
Man Uses Coupons to Try to Buy Car
Tue Jan 14, 8:06 AM ET
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - A coupon-clipper looking to score a new car got the run-around when he presented a dealer with $41,400 worth of coupons.
Stay-at-home dad Chris Shields of Eliot, Maine, said he was perusing newspaper ads recently when he noticed a $200-off coupon from Toyota of Portsmouth.
Shields said nothing in the ad limited customers to one coupon, so he bought more than 200 Seacoast Newspapers carrying the ad and clipped away.
On Jan. 4, Shields packed up his coupons in a black briefcase and made his way to the dealership in hopes of picking up a silver 2002 Sequoia Limited worth about $42,000. He said he was rebuffed with a suggestion that he get a lawyer.
Dealership owner Jim Boyle said Shields won't be getting the car with coupons.
"The ad ran as it was supposed to run, and there was nothing misleading or deceptive about it," he said. "No reasonable person could possibly expect to piggyback coupons like that and walk away with a new car."
Shields said he has no plans to hire a lawyer but has contacted the state attorney general's consumer protection bureau. So has Boyle, who said he was told Shields' case "has no legs to it at all."
16:15 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Cockfighting Rooster Kills HandlerCockfighting Rooster Kills Handler
Tue Jan 14,10:52 AM ET
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines - A rooster about to be set loose for a bout in a crowded cockfighting arena attacked its handler with the razor-sharp steel spikes strapped to its legs, killing the stunned man, police said Tuesday.
The gaffs hit the man's thigh and groin as the bird made one rapid shuffle, causing him to bleed profusely Sunday before a large crowd of shocked spectators, police investigator Johnny Muhajil said.
The man died while being brought to a hospital in Zamboanga, a bustling port city about 530 miles south of Manila, he said.
Cockfighting is an extremely popular gambling sports in the Philippines, especially in rural areas.
16:14 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - "Exploding" frying pans recalled"Exploding" frying pans recalled
Tue Jan 14, 1:05 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 8,700 frying pans sold through America's Home Shopping Network are being recalled because they can "explode" while in use, according to U.S. safety regulators.
Two consumers have been burned from hot oil and there have also been eight reports of property damage involving the frying pans, the Davenport, Iowa-based Innova reported to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
"The pans can explode or separate when preheated, used on high heat or used for frying," the safety commission said in a statement on Tuesday..
The commission said consumers do not need to return the recalled Ultrex Thermal/Double Wall pans as customers who bought the products will receive a free replacement in the mail.
USA Interactive's Home Shopping Network sold the pans from October 2001 through September 2002 individually and as part of a set.
16:13 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - University Falls Prey to Phone TrickstersUniversity Falls Prey to Phone Tricksters
Mon Jan 13, 9:42 AM ET
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (Reuters) - Telephone hackers in Saudi Arabia broke into Texas A&M University's phone system and left voice mail messages that enabled them to make international calls charged to the school, an A&M spokesman said on Friday.
It is not yet known how many calls were made or how much was fraudulently charged to the university, but at least five of A&M's 25,000 lines were hit, spokesman Lane Stephenson said.
Phone company security workers notified the school of the breach on Thursday.
The hackers guessed the passwords to the voice mail boxes because the mail box owners had used the phone numbers as their passwords, a practice that is discouraged, Stephenson said.
According to The Bryan-College Station Eagle newspaper, the hackers then rerecorded the voice mail messages to say "Hello" when picked up. After a pause long enough for an operator to ask, "Will you accept the charges?," the message said "yes."
Once the operator connected the call, the hackers could transfer it wherever they wished, all at A&M's expense, officials said.
Asked if everyone had been told to change their voice mail passwords, Stephenson answered, "You bet."
16:12 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Boy's Hidden Firecrackers Spark Airport AlertBoy's Hidden Firecrackers Spark Airport Alert
Mon Jan 13, 9:39 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - British police arrested a 15-year-old Australian boy at London's Heathrow airport on Monday after he tried to board a flight with firecrackers hidden in his shoes.
After ruling out any terror implications, police released him a few hours later with just a caution.
One police source said it may have been a prank or that the boy was trying to hide the fireworks from his mother, who was traveling with him.
The boy was stopped at the central security search point in Heathrow's Terminal Four as he headed on to a British Airways flight. Security staff discovered two firecrackers in each of his shoes.
"The boy, an Australian national, was arrested and taken to West Drayton police station. He was later released after being given a caution," a Scotland Yard spokeswoman said.
The boy was not identified by police as he is a juvenile.
16:12 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Russian Minces Friend After Drunken ArgumentRussian Minces Friend After Drunken Argument
Mon Jan 13, 9:44 AM ET
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian man who murdered his friend in a drunken argument and then minced and flavored his body for a meal, was jailed for 12 years, Interfax news agency reported.
Yevgeny Usanov stabbed his victim through the heart in the central Russian town of Saratov, the agency said Friday. He cut up the body, wrapped it in bay leaves and fed it through a mincer.
"These culinary preparations were done with only one aim -- to eat the victim," prosecutor Natalya Rubanova told the court. It was not clear whether the man ate his friend before he was arrested.
16:11 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Ghost Ship Packed with Rotten Fish Found at SeaGhost Ship Packed with Rotten Fish Found at Sea
Tue Jan 14, 9:23 AM ET
CANBERRA, Australia (Reuters) - Australian police said on Tuesday they were baffled by the discovery of a ghost ship full of rotting fish -- but no crew or life rafts -- drifting off the remote northwest coast of Australia.
The 65-foot High Aim 6, registered in Taiwan and flying an Indonesian flag, was intercepted and boarded by the Australian navy last week about 185 miles west of the fishing port of Broome after it was spotted drifting aimlessly.
A massive search in the area has turned up no survivors, life rafts or clues, but the presence of up to three tons of rotting mackerel and tuna in the hold has convinced police the boat was used by fisherman, not people smugglers.
"There weren't any indications on board that anything untoward had happened. The conditions on board were quite good," a spokeswoman for the Australian Federal Police in Perth told Reuters.
She said the long-line fishing boat, which would have a crew of around 12, appeared well-equipped and seaworthy.
The weather in the area has been calm for weeks.
Police have launched an international investigation in a bid to track down the owners or crew of the boat.
"The only factor we have to work with at the moment is the fact that it is Taiwanese-owned, so we'll be going to the owners to try to learn a little bit more about the crew and a little bit more about the history of the vessel's passage to this point," the police spokeswoman said.
00:14 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Hong Kong Man Told to Stop Mock FuneralsHong Kong Man Told to Stop Mock Funerals
Sat Jan 4, 8:38 PM ET
HONG KONG - A Hong Kong court has ordered a man to stop conducting mock funerals near a luxury housing development, after would-be buyers were spooked, a village official said Saturday.
Choi Chung-ching allegedly staged fake funerals — complete with music, incense and an altar — after he moved into a house just outside the up-market Beverly Hills development in suburban Tai Po. Many people in Hong Kong avoid property with funerals going on nearby because of superstitions.
Trustees of the Shuen Wan Hueng village, which owns the house, filed a lawsuit against Choi last week. They accuse him of causing a nuisance and trying to squeeze money from property developer Henderson Land Development Ltd.
The injunction bans Choi from staging any more fake funerals and orders him to remove any funeral items, including two coffins and sacrificial scrolls, said Chan Ping, a village representative.
After the funerals, the South China Morning Post reported Henderson Land received but rejected a demand to take over the two-year lease on the house for $2.5 million — 55 times the value of the lease.
Henderson has declined to comment, and Choi could not be reached.
In their lawsuit, the village trustees also ask the court to order Choi to return the house and pay unspecified damages.
00:07 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Paint Can to the Head Prevents RobberyPaint Can to the Head Prevents Robbery
Tue Jan 7, 8:11 AM ET
ANDERSON, S.C. - Three store clerks and a paint can were enough to stop an armed robber last weekend.
A Florida man, armed with a gun, walked into the Family Dollar store at a shopping center Saturday and told two workers to give him the cash in their registers.
They complied, and the robber ordered them to lock the door. But then a third clerk in the back charged the thief and hit him in the head with a paint can, according to an Anderson County Sheriff's Office report.
The burglar was stunned and another employee tackled him and held him down until police got there.
Richard James Foster, 57, has been charged with armed robbery, police said.
00:03 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Answering Machine Joke Triggers Terror RaidOddly Enough - Reuters
Answering Machine Joke Triggers Terror Raid
Mon Jan 6,10:29 AM ET
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - An anti-terrorism squad raided the home of a Danish family after mistaking a light-hearted message on their answering machine for a hostage alert.
"We have been taken hostage by two children. Hurry. Help us after the beep. Now!" the Danish daily Politiken quoted the message as saying on Monday.
But police in the Copenhagen suburb of Gladsaxe and worried friends, who alerted the authorities on Saturday, thought the message said: "We have been taken hostage WITH two children."
Two police cars were dispatched and surprised neighbors watched as policemen cordoned off the area. Police had entered the house but the officer in charge told Politiken it had turned out to be a false alarm.
23:59 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Mich. Woman's Fingertip Severed in ArrestMich. Woman's Fingertip Severed in Arrest
Tue Jan 7, 3:55 PM ET
DETROIT - Police asked prosecutors Tuesday to file charges against an officer who cut off a woman's fingertip with a 4-inch utility knife as he tried to arrest her in a bar parking lot.
Officer Anthony Johnson also deeply cut another finger of the suspect as he tried to cut off her coat sleeve so he could put her in handcuffs. The fingertip was recovered but could not be reattached.
Johnson was placed on desk duty after Sunday's incident.
"The department has no policies and procedures that would cause an officer to use a knife to make an arrest," Deputy Chief Gary Brown said. "We don't issue knives."
Johnson had asked Joni Gullas, 45, for identification as she sat in a van in parking lot. He said she refused and smelled of alcohol.
The plainclothes officer said he reached inside to open the door, but Gullas pinned his hand with her knee and began moving the van. The two struggled and fell onto the pavement. According to the police report, Johnson pulled on Gullas' coat sleeve and she pulled her hand inside.
Concerned that she might be reaching for a weapon, Johnson pulled out the knife and cut the sleeve off, he wrote.
Gullas, who has not been charged with a crime, said she thought she was being attacked.
23:55 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Animal Rights Group to Launch Protests Against KFCAnimal Rights Group to Launch Protests Against KFC
Tue Jan 7,11:05 AM ET
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Reuters) - An animal rights group said on Monday it will launch international protests against KFC after failing to negotiate changes in the way the fast-food giant raises and slaughters chickens.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said it wants KFC, owned by Louisville-based Yum Brands, Inc., to abandon practices such as stunning and slitting the throats of chickens and instead use gas to kill them more humanely.
It also wants KFC to ensure the birds have more space and perches, are not subjected to fast-growth techniques, and are selected with automated devices instead of being caught by hand.
The group, which has waged successful campaigns against the McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's chains, said that more than two years of negotiations with Yum Brands have produced little progress.
"McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's responded to consumer pressure. KFC would do well to follow their lead," PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich said.
The group will hold news conferences in Louisville, Toronto and London on Tuesday to illustrate claims of animal cruelty by KFC and urge a boycott. Next week, the group plans anti-KFC events in Rome; Stuttgart, Germany; and Bombay, India.
Yum Brands has said it is committed to humane treatment of chickens and frequently audits its suppliers to ensure strict compliance with its guidelines.
23:52 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Family Keeps Pet Eel in Bath - for 33 Years
Family Keeps Pet Eel in Bath - for 33 Years
Tue Jan 7,11:20 AM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German family has kept a live eel in its bathtub for the last 33 years and even trained it to swim into a bucket when someone needs to wash.
"He's part of our family," said Hannelore Richter of Bochum in western Germany, whose husband Paul caught the eel on a fishing trip in 1969 and took it home for supper.
His children fell in love with the eel, refusing to let him kill and cook it, and since then it has lived in the bath, shared it with the children when they were small -- and has even moved house with the family, German newspapers reported.
"It's a weird situation," zoologist Walter Gettmann told Reuters. "He has certainly lost the skills needed to survive in the wild. But if he is fed properly, he can survive in a tub."
13:13 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Mass. Cab Is Unwitting Getaway CarMass. Cab Is Unwitting Getaway Car
Mon Dec 30, 9:03 AM ET
PLYMOUTH, Mass. - The fare seemed unusual to the cab driver only because of the tip — $5 for a $7 ride from the bus station to a local bank to downtown.
Only later did the driver she was the unwitting getaway driver in a bank robbery.
"As far as I know, (the suspect) was very calm and cool," Patriot Taxi cab company owner Timothy Cushman told The Enterprise of Brockton, adding that the $5 tip was the most notable detail.
"Not bad for a $7 call," he said.
Police said the robber made off with a "substantial amount of cash" from a Citizens Bank branch. The driver was unharmed and "had no clue whatsoever" about the robbery until police called a half-hour later, Cushman said.
13:09 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Engagement Ring Found After 15 YearsEngagement Ring Found After 15 Years
Wed Jan 1,12:36 PM ET
HARTFORD, Conn. - Call it the diamond in the rough. Fifteen years after Diane Kurtz lost her engagement ring, it was returned to her by a Hartford sewage treatment plant worker who found it at the bottom of a wastewater drainage pool. He also found her onyx ring that disappeared at the same time.
Kurtz, of New Hartford, believes the rings fell down a sink drain in a bathroom. Kurtz and her husband, Michael, think the rings were pumped out of their septic tank by a contractor who took the waste to the treatment plant.
Bill Zuerblis, a treatment operator at the Metropolitan District Commission's sewage treatment plant in Hartford, found the rings, then did some detective work to find the Kurtzes. He called them Dec. 19.
"He was asking me if I lost anything, " said Diane Kurtz, who thought that someone had found car keys she lost earlier the same day. "Finally it dawns on me. My heart started pounding, and I said he found my wedding ring."
13:07 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Fla. County to Give Away Unused BallotsStrange News - AP
Fla. County to Give Away Unused Ballots
Thu Jan 2, 8:07 AM ET
It's a chance of a lifetime to own a piece of history - chads and all.
Hillsborough County elections officials are giving away 140,000 unused ballots — complete with attached chads — printed for the maligned punch-card machines retired after the 2000 election debacle, said Pam Iorio, the county's elections supervisor.
Anyone wanting some free ballots may pick them up during business hours Thursday or Friday in Iorio's office in downtown Tampa or at the Elections Service Center in suburban Brandon.
All Florida counties that used punch cards in 2000 have since shifted to modern voting machines, such as touch-screen systems.
Ballots that were used in the presidential election and its disputed recounts are sitting in warehouses around the state, while officials decide whether they should be saved for posterity.
13:06 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Would-Be Bank Robber Waits in LineWould-Be Bank Robber Waits in Line
Fri Jan 3, 5:04 AM ET
An alleged bank robber waited in line for a friendly face - his former girlfriend, authorities said.
A tearful Andrea Dejesus walked into the police department Wednesday and told police she had ended a four-month relationship with Marco Lugo, 26, about three weeks ago, court documents said.
She alleged that Lugo waited in line on New Year's Eve and approached her as she worked behind the counter, police said.
The suspect placed a paper bag on the counter and handed Dejesus a note that read "give me all the money in both drawers, large bills first," a court affidavit said. The suspect never displayed a weapon or implied that he had one, police said.
Police would not say how much was allegedly stolen from the bank, and declined to comment on why Dejesus waited to come to police.
Charges were filed against Lugo, who remained at large Thursday.
13:05 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Villages Hound 'Witches' After LightningVillages Hound 'Witches' After Lightning
Thu Jan 2, 8:52 AM ET
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African villagers hounded two elderly men from their homes after accusing them of using witchcraft to direct lightning bolts on to other houses, police said on Thursday.
Police spokesman Ntobeng Phala told Reuters villagers from Bokna Farm in the country's northern province of Limpopo met after three houses were set ablaze by lightning strikes.
South Africa has one of the highest incidences of lightning in the world.
Although experts put the frequency of strikes in Limpopo province down to its high altitude, many local people see lightning as a result of witchcraft, which is blamed for a variety of ills in rural communities.
"Malicious rumors at the meeting pointed to a 76-year-old man as the one who was conducting the lightning," Phala said, adding the villagers then drove the man and his family from his house, throwing stones and threatening to burn him alive.
They then torched his five huts. The day before, a man in the nearby village of Dithabaneng was threatened with the same fate and narrowly escaped with his life, Phala said.
Phala said 13 men appeared in court on Thursday in connection with the Bokna Farm attack, and that seven people had been arrested in connection with the Dithabaneng attack.
He said the two men and their families were sheltering in tents inside a police compound.
13:04 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Man Blames Reckless Driving on MartiansMan Blames Reckless Driving on Martians
Thu Jan 2, 9:05 AM ET
MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) - A Frenchman who raced through a motorway road block, triggering a high-speed police car chase that ended in a minor crash, has blamed aliens from Mars for his reckless driving.
Under police custody in a hospital in the Mediterranean city of Marseille, the 42-year-old told police he was being "chased by Martians" when he charged through a road block on the A55 motorway Monday evening, police sources said.
A breathalyzer test for alcohol proved negative, but police are still awaiting the results of drugs tests and a psychiatric examination.
France, which has one of the worst accident rates in Europe with more than 8,000 road deaths each year, is in the process of stiffening its speeding and drink-driving laws to try and reduce the carnage on its roads.
13:04 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Jack Ass Sues Over 'Jackass' TV ShowOddly Enough - Reuters
Jack Ass Sues Over 'Jackass' TV Show
Thu Jan 2, 8:51 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jack Ass says "Jackass" has given him a bad name.
A Montana man who legally changed his name to "Jack Ass" in 1997 has sued media giant Viacom Inc., claiming its stunt-heavy, gross-out TV show and movie "Jackass" had defamed his character.
In a suit filed in November in Montana and posted this week on a legal Web site, Jack Ass, who said he changed his name to raise awareness about the dangers of drunk driving, claimed Viacom was "liable for injury to my reputation that I have built and defamation of my character which I have worked so hard to create."
The suit asks for damages of $10 million or more. Jack Ass is representing himself.
Jack Ass, a journeyman power lineman by trade, said he changed his name from Bob Craft in late 1997 as part of a personal crusade against drunk driving after his brother and a friend were killed in a car crash. Theirs was the only vehicle involved.
Jack Ass runs a Web site (www.andiass.com) centered around a donkey-like cartoon character "Andi Ass," which touts T-shirts, baseball caps, souvenir beer bottles and a message of responsible drinking.
13:00 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Firms Deny Creating Female Sexual DisorderFirms Deny Creating Female Sexual Disorder
Fri Jan 3,10:16 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Pharmaceutical firms on Friday rejected claims they had created a new disorder known as female sexual dysfunction to build a market for Viagra and similar drugs among women.
An article in the British Medical Journal said researchers with close ties to industry had defined the new disorder at company-sponsored meetings over the past six years to encourage use of the same medicines that have helped men with impotence.
The result was that female sexual problems were being wrongly "medicalized" and the number of women affected greatly exaggerated.
The author of the article, Australian Financial Review journalist Ray Moynihan, said claims that 43 percent of women aged 18-59 had female sexual dysfunction were misleading and potentially dangerous.
He traced the origin of the definition of the condition to a May 1997 meeting of researchers and drug company representatives at a Cape Cod hotel.
But drugmakers said they were simply seeking a treatment option for millions of women with sexual difficulties equivalent to the erectile dysfunction that men can face, which is now frequently treated with Viagra, a $1.5 billion seller for Pfizer Inc.
12:58 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Boy Who Posed as Officer Faces ChargesBoy Who Posed as Officer Faces Charges
Fri Jan 3,10:19 AM ET
STOCKTON, Calif. (Reuters) - A 16-year-old northern California boy who posed as a probation officer to take 11 teenagers he had never met to a miniature golf course faces charges of burglary, auto theft and impersonating an officer, authorities say.
The boy, whose name was not released, was arrested on Sunday morning after police stopped two carloads full of teens speeding recklessly down a highway and found him "decked out in his probation officer's uniform," Stanislaus County Sheriff's Deputy Tom Letras said.
Letras said the boy, who was on probation for burglary, had allegedly broken into a county facility in neighboring San Juaquin County, east of San Francisco, during the night.
He allegedly left wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with an official emblem, along with a badge and equipment belt that included handcuffs and pepper spray, carrying cell phones and driving a county car.
Letras said the boy went in his uniform to the homes of 11 teens who were on probation and explained to their parents that he was taking them to an amusement center as a reward for good behavior. A 17-year-old girl apparently went with him back to the probation office to pick up another car.
"Most, if not all, of the kids did not know him," Letras said. "He just pretended to be a probation officer and said he was taking them to Boomers. A couple of the parents did question him but they thought maybe he was on probation too and doing this as a reward."
Letras said that when officers pulled him over, he stuck with his story.
"He tried to claim he was a probation officer but they didn't buy it," Letras said. "Of course he looked very young."
Letras said the other 11 teens were turned over to their parents and not charged in connection with the case.
12:58 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Human Foot Found in LaundryHuman Foot Found in Laundry
Fri Jan 3,10:11 AM ET
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Staff at a laundry washing hospital linen found a human foot, a Swedish newspaper said on Friday.
The foot, with painted toenails, was found on December 10 at a commercial laundry in Eskilstuna, west of Stockholm, which washed linen from several hospitals, Eskilstuna-Kuriren said on its Web site.
A local police officer told the newspaper police were waiting for a medical report on the foot and how it had been separated from the leg before deciding whether to open a criminal investigation.
12:57 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Inept Car Thieves Couldn't DriveOddly Enough - Reuters
Inept Car Thieves Couldn't Drive
Fri Jan 3,10:20 AM ET
EDMONTON, Alberta (Reuters) - Two would-be Canadian thieves learned the hard way on New Year's Day that knowing how to drive a car is a prerequisite for stealing one.
Police said the two males accosted a pizza delivery man in northeast Edmonton, Alberta, early Wednesday and demanded the four pizzas he was carrying as well as cash.
The bandits, aged 17 and 18, apparently changed their minds at one point and jumped into the man's car.
But their getaway was foiled because the 17-year-old behind the wheel did not know how to drive a stick shift.
Flummoxed by the manual transmission and clutch, the duo then went back to their original plan to commandeer the pizzas, Edmonton Police spokesman Wes Bellmore said.
"It was a toss-up between pizzas and the car, and they knew how to operate pizzas," Bellmore said.
When officers soon arrived on the scene, they spotted one of the suspects entering the home where the pizzas were to be delivered.
Both were arrested and have been charged with robbery and theft under $3,000.
Police also recovered the pizzas.
