Yahoo! News - Possums on power trip spark blaze: "Mon Dec 29, 3:04 AM ET
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Teams of firefighters and three helicopters have extinguished a blaze started by two possums that climbed a power pole and short-circuited the 11,000 volt line.
The New Zealand Press Association said the possums were found dead at the foot of the pylon after igniting the bushfire, near Lyttelton Harbour on New Zealand's picturesque South Island. "
21:23 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Security Snafu Shuts Airport: "Tue Dec 30, 9:27 AM ET
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Security officials shut down part of San Antonio International Airport after traces of a cleaning solution on a piece of luggage were mistaken for the explosive TNT.
One of the airport's two terminals was closed for 30 minutes Monday after the checked baggage tested positive for the explosive, said airport spokeswoman Lisa Burkhardt-Worley.
The bag was removed for further testing and its owner was taken into airport custody, she said.
Transportation Security Administration officials scoured the terminal and plane, but it turned out that the suspected TNT, or trinitrotoluene, was nothing more than his mother's cleaner.
'The gentleman's mother apparently owns a cleaning business, and the chemicals used in one of the cleaners is similar to the chemical makeup of TNT, so that's why the elements set off the explosive detection machine,' Burkhardt-Worley said.
Security measures were increased at U.S. airports during the holiday travel season after the government said there was an increased chance of Sept. 11-style attacks by extremists. "
21:21 Posted by David
: "Tue Dec 30, 9:16 AM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A federal appeals court has upheld a Utah artist's right to make nude photos of Barbie dolls being menaced by kitchen appliances.
Noting the image of Barbie dolls is 'ripe for social comment,' a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday rejected toymaker Mattel Inc.'s appeal of a lower court ruling in favor of lampooning the popular doll.
The San Francisco-based appeals court ruled that naked photos of Barbie made by Kanab, Utah, artist Thomas Forsythe were meant to be a parody and could not affect demand for Mattel products.
Holding that social criticism was protected by the First Amendment, the court affirmed a 2001 federal court ruling for Forsythe, who had produced photos of nude Barbies in danger of being attacked by vintage household appliances.
Mattel had argued the photos infringed on their copyrights and trademarks. Forsythe had used Barbie dolls in absurd and often sexualized positions for his 'Food Chain Barbie' photos.
The artist had argued that the photo series, which also included a photo of Barbie dolls wrapped in tortillas and covered in salsa in a casserole dish in a lit oven, was meant to critique the 'objectification of women' and 'beauty myth' associated with the popular doll. "
16:42 Posted by David
Ananova - Belgian man charged with speeding at 1,154mph: "Belgian man charged with speeding at 1,154mph
A Belgian man was charged with speeding at 1,154mph in his Citroen car.
Diego Billardello said: 'Because I drive only a Citroen Picasso and not a rocket, I looked at the £100 fine and had a good laugh.'
Billardello, from Heusden-Zolder, told the judge the maximum speed of his car was only 110mph, reports Het Laatste Nieuws.
But the judge said he still had to pay the fine after looking at a picture which showed Billardello was driving at 40mph in a 30mph area.
A police spokesman said an officer had filled in the papers incorrectly: 'He mistakenly put the hour of the offence in the place where he should have filled in the velocity of the car,' he said.
Story filed: 11:59 Friday 19th December 2003"
21:17 Posted by David
NEWS.com.au | Swedish baby baked in oven (December 26, 2003): "Swedish baby baked in oven
From correspondents in Stockholm
December 26, 2003
POLICE have arrested a mother for allegedly baking her five-month-old baby in an oven, seriously burning the infant, media and officials said today.
The child received second-degree burns all over his body during the incident last weekend, and was in stable condition in a Gothenburg hospital, a clinic spokeswoman said.
'It's a terrible story, but at least he's in stable condition for the time being,' said Margreth Jonson of the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenberg.
The baby was taken to hospital on Sunday with burns across much of his body.
Police quickly grew suspicious that the child's 30-year-old mother had inflicted the injuries, and on Tuesday they arrested her.
'The baby's mother was arrested for attempted murder,' police inspector Harriet Persson said.
Persson refused to give any further details, insisting that investigators were not permitted to discuss the case until after the woman's expected indictment in January.
According to Swedish news reports, however, police arrested the baby's mother on suspicion that she had tried to kill him by baking him in a hot oven.
Agence France-Presse"
21:07 Posted by David
New York Post Online Edition: SUBWAY SEVERS MAN'S LEGS: "By HASANI GITTENS
December 27, 2003 -- An uptown No. 3 train lopped off a man's legs last night when it ran him over at the 110th Street and Lenox Avenue station in Harlem, officials said.
The unidentified man was lying on the northbound track near the middle of the station at about 6:45 p.m. when the train rounded the curved platform and hit him, severing his legs, according to Transit Authority spokesman James Anyansi.
The motorman saw the man and hit the emergency brake, but the first car still ran over him, officials said.
Emergency workers said the man was conscious as he was taken to St. Luke's Hospital. His condition late last night was unknown.
After the train had been cleared, blood and about $3 in change remained on the tracks where the man was hit. Transit officials speculated he might have been trying to get the change. Police sources, however, said the man was drunk."
21:02 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Portuguese prisoners refuse Christmas lunch because bread was not fresh: "Thu Dec 25, 2:10 PM ET
LISBON (AFP) - Some 50 prisoners at a jail near Lisbon refused to eat a special Christmas lunch because they said the bread included in the meal had not been freshly baked, local media reported.
The inmates began to protest when the director of the establishment, which houses 350 prisoners, joined them for their holiday lunch, the Lusa news agency reported citing a prison services official.
The prison, located in the town of Belas some 30 kilometres (20 miles) northwest of the Portuguese capital, opened earlier this year, making it one of the country's newest jails.
Virtually all Portuguese bakeries were shut Thursday, after closing earlier than usual a day earlier, in honour of the Christmas holiday. "
20:57 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Crook Returns Stolen Car, Writes Apology: "Fri Dec 26,10:30 AM ET
PITTSBURGH - Joan Visokey calls it a 'Christmas miracle.' A thief who stole her cousin's car returned it two days later along with a letter of apology, police said.
Visokey and her cousin, Janet Hartman, were about to go shopping Sunday when they discovered that Hartman's car, which contained her purse, $200, credit cards and heart medicine, had been stolen off the street.
On Christmas Eve, Visokey found a blue envelope sitting on her front porch, police said. Inside were the keys to Hartman's car and a letter.
'I could never apologize enough for your car being stolen,' the letter said. 'There is no damage done to it ... I will try to replace the money I stole.
'I have never done anything like this before and I never will again,' the letter said.
Directed by the letter, Visokey ran behind a church and found the car. Hartman's purse was tucked under one of the seats but the wallet was gone, police said.
Visokey left a Christmas card on her door, thanking the thief.
However, police believe the thief may have used the car for three other crimes and have impounded it. "
20:45 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Family Sues After Dad's Head Found in Shed: "Sat Dec 27, 4:33 PM ET
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The children of a cancer patient who donated his body for research filed a lawsuit after learning their father's embalmed head was kept in a tool shed for nearly 11 years.
The head of Osie K. Whitten, who died Dec. 24, 1990, of colon cancer, was among 150 pounds of human cadaver parts allegedly removed from the medical center at the University of California, Davis, by a former autopsy assistant.
David Lawrence Beale, who worked for Pathology Support Services Inc., which managed the medical center's morgue and autopsy service, was arrested last summer after the remains were found among his belongings.
He pleaded not guilty to charges of receiving stolen property and possession of methamphetamines. Police say Beale told them he used the remains to hone his dissection skills.
The medical center, Beale and Pathology Support Services were named in the lawsuit filed by Whitten's children.
The medical center said it could not comment; it previously said it had changed the way human remains are handled. Pathology Support Services said Beale's activities were not part of his job. "
20:43 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Stowaway Found Dead in New York on Jet from Jamaica: "Fri Dec 26, 7:23 AM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Maintenance crews found the body of a man believed to be a stowaway inside an American Airlines jet at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, a spokesman for the airport said on Thursday.
Maintenance workers discovered the dead man, estimated to be about 25, around 11 p.m. on Wednesday in the wheel well of the aircraft.
The plane, American Air flight 1190, landed at 7 p.m. (midnight GMT) on a flight from Montego Bay, Jamaica, said Dan Maynard, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey that operates the airport.
'Port Authority police are investigating the circumstances of the case but believe the unidentified man was a stowaway because he was found in a location where people are not supposed to be,' he said. "
20:42 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - German Firefighters Rescue Flock of Seagulls: "Fri Dec 26, 7:23 AM ET
MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Munich firefighters were called out on Christmas day to rescue a flock of seagulls that got stuck when a lake near the city's Olympic stadium froze over.
'They didn't notice it was getting colder and their tails got frozen stuck,' a fire brigade spokesman said on Thursday. 'We were able to help most wiggle free but one bird was so stuck so we had to cut out the whole chunk of ice and take the whole thing back to the station.' "
20:40 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Shipwreck Crew Rescued, Then Busted for Smuggling: "Fri Dec 26, 7:51 AM ET
ATHENS (Reuters) - The crew of a freighter that half-sunk off the Greek island of Santorini on Christmas Eve spent Christmas Day thanking the coastguard for rescuing them, only to be arrested on Boxing Day for smuggling.
The North Korean-flagged Elisabeth hit an islet southwest of Santorini during a storm on Wednesday. Coastguard officers evacuated the eight-man Ukrainian crew and took them to hospital for checks, inspecting the ship the next day once weather allowed.
'When the coastguard went to check for spills and boarded the ship, they found it did not carry cement as declared, but around 35 tonnes of smuggled cigarettes,' a Merchant Marine Ministry spokesman said on Friday.
The crew's rescue had been featured on Greek television as a heart-warming tale on Christmas Day, with crew members offering thanks and season's greetings. All have been arrested on charges of smuggling, the spokesman added. "
20:39 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - French Thieves Drive Victim Home for Christmas Eve: "Fri Dec 26, 8:05 AM ET
PARIS (Reuters) - A pair of thieves who seized a van loaded with pricey designer goods on Wednesday took a two-hour detour so they could drive the owner home for his Christmas Eve dinner, before fleeing with the loot.
Posing as police, the two men tricked the van driver into pulling over at a motorway intersection on the edge of Paris by chasing him in a car fitted with a flashing blue light, a siren and a 'police' sign, local media reported on Friday.
Despite being armed with guns and wearing balaclavas, the thieves showed some seasonal goodwill when they asked their victim where he lived, explaining 'we don't want you to have too far to walk,' according to police sources.
They then drove the man around 300 km (185 miles) to his home in Saint Soupplets in eastern France, so he could arrive in time for the traditional Christmas meal which in France is eaten on the evening of December 24. Showing that Christmas spirit only goes so far, the man, whose van was loaded with clothes from labels like Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, has filed a complaint with police."
20:38 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Swallowed Diamond Ring Shows Up as Evidence: "Fri Dec 26, 7:24 AM ETFri Dec 26, 7:22 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The scene in one of New York's fabled Italian restaurants would have done "The Sopranos" TV scriptwriters proud -- a reputed mobster shot a man dead for heckling a woman singer.
Police said Broadway chanteuse Rena Strober was singing "Don't Rain on My Parade" at Rao's, an East Harlem restaurant, Monday night when a patron, Albert Circelli, criticized her performance.
Reputed Luchese crime family associate Louis Barone told him to watch his mouth but when Circelli swore in response, Barone pulled out a .38-caliber revolver and shot him in the back, police said.
A second shot fired by Barone hit another diner, Al Petraglia, 57, in the foot, police said. Barone dropped the revolver, walked out of the restaurant and was arrested by police officers.
Circelli, 37, died of his wounds and Petraglia was treated in the hospital, police said.
Rao's is a 10-table restaurant that accommodates only 40 people. It has a reputation for exclusivity and a Mafia mystique, but police said the shooting was not a mob "hit."
Barone, 67, has a record of arrests for gambling and weapons possession dating back four decades. He could be a character in "The Sopranos," a popular cable TV show about an organized crime family in neighboring New Jersey.
Barone appeared in Manhattan criminal court Wednesday on charges of second degree murder, assault and weapons possession. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life.
New York tabloids had a field day."Songfella" read the front page of the Daily News, "Bullets Bolognese at Rao's as wiseguy whacks a wise guy who insults singer." The New York Post headline was "Swan Song" and "Diva diss sparked geezer's gunfire."
CLEARWATER, Fla. (Reuters) - A would-be jewel thief who swallowed a 1.5 carat diamond ring has been forced by nature to give up the evidence, Florida police said.
A Clearwater Police Department spokesman said on Wednesday that Mary Flowers, 38, was arrested last week after a surveillance tape showed her putting the $20,000 ring in her mouth at a jewelry store in a mall.
Flowers denied swallowing the ring until an X-ray showed it was inside her.
She was kept under observation in a jail cell until the ring passed through her digestive system late on Monday.
Flowers has been charged with grand theft with bail set at $5,000. Police are keeping the ring until the case is completed. "
20:37 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Reputed NY Mobster Shoots Man for Heckling SingerFri Dec 26, 7:22 AM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The scene in one of New York's fabled Italian restaurants would have done "The Sopranos" TV scriptwriters proud -- a reputed mobster shot a man dead for heckling a woman singer.
Police said Broadway chanteuse Rena Strober was singing "Don't Rain on My Parade" at Rao's, an East Harlem restaurant, Monday night when a patron, Albert Circelli, criticized her performance.
Reputed Luchese crime family associate Louis Barone told him to watch his mouth but when Circelli swore in response, Barone pulled out a .38-caliber revolver and shot him in the back, police said.
A second shot fired by Barone hit another diner, Al Petraglia, 57, in the foot, police said. Barone dropped the revolver, walked out of the restaurant and was arrested by police officers.
Circelli, 37, died of his wounds and Petraglia was treated in the hospital, police said.
Rao's is a 10-table restaurant that accommodates only 40 people. It has a reputation for exclusivity and a Mafia mystique, but police said the shooting was not a mob "hit."
Barone, 67, has a record of arrests for gambling and weapons possession dating back four decades. He could be a character in "The Sopranos," a popular cable TV show about an organized crime family in neighboring New Jersey.
Barone appeared in Manhattan criminal court Wednesday on charges of second degree murder, assault and weapons possession. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life.
New York tabloids had a field day."Songfella" read the front page of the Daily News, "Bullets Bolognese at Rao's as wiseguy whacks a wise guy who insults singer." The New York Post headline was "Swan Song" and "Diva diss sparked geezer's gunfire."
20:34 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Sicily Man Arranges Shooting to Woo Woman: "Fri Dec 26, 9:09 AM ET
ROME (Reuters) - A man in Sicily asked a friend to shoot him in the groin in the hope of making his ex-girlfriend feel sorry for him, police said on Friday.
Police in the central Sicilian city of Piazza Armerina said they became suspicious when the 27-year-old went to hospital with wounds from a hunting rifle's pellets in the groin area.
At first he said the wounds had been caused in a hunting accident, but later admitted he had asked a friend, 16, to shoot him in an attempt to win back the affection of his girlfriend, who had apparently left him because of his violent character.
The man's wounds are expected to heal, doctors said.
Police said the man, and the 16-year-old, had been charged in connection with the shooting. Local reports said the man's ex-girlfriend had made clear she never wanted to see him again. "
22:49 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Loose screw halts nuclear power station: "Mon Dec 22, 4:45 PM ET
MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish nuclear power station has been shut indefinitely because of a small missing screw weighing just four to five grammes that fell off a machine during refuelling, nuclear officials say.
The Zorita plant, located in the central Castille-La Mancha region, cannot reopen until a full report on the screw is completed, a spokesman for the national Nuclear Security Council told Reuters on Monday.
Staff searched for the screw with cameras, but after failing to locate it on film, they concluded it must have slipped into an area of the reactor that was inaccessible to cameras, the spokesman said.
He said it was unlikely the missing screw would present any risk. "
22:48 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Diamond Dispatch Dropped in Dustbin: "Mon Dec 22,10:01 AM ET
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Thousands of Dutch residents were rummaging through their rubbish in a diamond rush after a jeweler's anniversary dispatch was largely ignored as junk mail, a newspaper reported Monday.
Johan de Boer of the eastern Dutch town of Apeldoorn sent 4,000 clients a mailing to mark the 10th anniversary of his store.
Two hundred of the envelopes contained a small diamond, while the others held zirconia stones -- a cheap diamond-lookalike used in costume jewelry. 'Are you the lucky one?' the letters asked.
De Boer had expected a flood of responses, but only a few people turned up. After calling a number of clients, he discovered most had discarded the mailing without opening it.
'I was very naive. People nowadays do not trust mailings like these anymore,' he told De Telegraaf newspaper.
Sending precious stones, fake as well as real ones, to clients and contacts is not unusual in the Netherlands, known for its Amsterdam diamond-cutting industry. "
22:46 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Man Chops Off Testicle in Dispute with Wife: "Mon Dec 22, 9:59 AM ET
NAIROBI (Reuters) - A Kenyan man chopped off one of his testicles in a row with his wife and then walked naked to a police station to report the incident, police said on Monday.
Police rushed 26-year-old Stephen Ongala to hospital after he stumbled into their police station in the border town of Busia in western Kenya on Friday bleeding heavily.
'He said he did it because he had had a disagreement with his wife,' said deputy police chief Shadrack Maithya. 'If we get evidence that he tried to take his life, then we may charge him because it is a criminal offence.' "
12:20 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - "Bored" teens rack up 80 million Internet bill: "Fri Dec 12,12:00 PM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - Three German teenagers are under investigation for fraud after they spent 130 million euros (80 million pounds) in a two-hour Internet shopping spree, claiming they were 'bored,' authorities say.
The 19-year-olds splashed out on light aircraft, patents, industrial machinery, restaurants and artwork after hacking into an account on an Internet auction site.
'They gave boredom as the motive and made no attempt to disguise what fun they had buying only the most expensive things,' according to police in the western town of Limburg. State prosecutors are investigating. "
12:19 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Couple Robbed While Watching 'Bad Santa': "Wed Dec 10, 8:35 PM ET
CALDWELL, Idaho - Forget Santa, these were some bad elves. While John Roberts and Sandy Norton were out seeing the Christmas movie spoof, 'Bad Santa,' Sunday night, somebody stole about $500 of decorations and lights from their home.
'It's a crying shame,' Roberts said. 'This is a time of year to give thanks.'
Caldwell Police Capt. Chris Allgood said it is difficult to track down stolen house decorations unless they are specifically marked so they can be identified.
For his part, Roberts has bolted down some of the remaining decorations, and he has installed a motion-light sensor to discourage future thefts.
But he is not letting it dampen his Christmas spirit.
'This is a beautiful holiday,' Roberts said. "
12:16 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Thousands of Bills Fall in Japan GarbageFri Dec 12,11:12 PM ET
TOKYO - A garbage disposal plant in central Japan has hit the jackpot. Operations at the plant suddenly came to a halt Friday morning when a machine used to crush refuse began spewing out 10,000 yen-bills ( onto a conveyor belt).
In total, some $287,000 had found its way into the garbage, Gyoda city police said Saturday.
Police, shown by public broadcaster NHK, sifted through the some 3,200 soiled bills strewn across the floor, patching together the torn pieces with tape and piling them onto a banquet-sized table to be counted.
"I got the creeps — it was kind of scary. You expect garbage but you never imagine money to come out," said one unidentified employee interviewed by NHK.
No one has come forward to claim the money, and police are trying to track down the owner. If the money is not claimed within six months, it will go to Gyoda city, which owns the plant, police said.
Gyoda lies just northwest of Tokyo in neighboring Saitama prefecture.
12:14 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Remorseful Thief Returns Stolen Loot: "Fri Dec 12, 9:37 AM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - A remorseful thief sent $600 worth of stolen goods to the police and asked they be returned to their rightful owners, German authorities said Thursday.
Police in the southern town of Darmstadt said the thief sent them a letter signed 'mea culpa,' listing the return address as Ehrlichstrasse (Honest street) in apologizing for the theft of 500 euros ($608) worth of CDs, cosmetics and other goods.
Darmstadt police spokesman Ferdinand Derigs said the contrite perpetrator had supplied the addresses of the shops plundered for the separately packed wares, and enclosed personal letters of apology to the respective managers.
'The thief even suggested they install more cameras and improve security, warning that a lot of things were getting pinched,' said Derigs. 'Now we have the goods, but no culprit. One out of two isn't bad though.'"
12:13 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Car Thieves Gate-Crash Florida Governor's Mansion: "Fri Dec 12, 9:37 AM ET
MIAMI (Reuters) - Two men in a stolen car crashed through the gates of the Florida governor's mansion, cut across the grounds and exited by smashing through another gate, police said on Thursday.
The men were fleeing after stealing the Ford Mustang at a fast food restaurant near the official residence of Gov. Jeb Bush in Tallahassee and took a shortcut across the property, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokeswoman said.
Neither suspect was from Tallahassee. 'My understanding is that they did not even know it was the governor's mansion,' spokeswoman Kristen Perezluha said.
Gov. Bush, brother of President Bush, was not home when the incident occurred on Wednesday night. His wife, Columba, was inside the mansion but never was in any danger, Perezluha said.
Local police recognized the stolen vehicle and arrested two suspects aged 19 and 24 on car theft charges. State agents matched the car's paint to that on the damaged gates and probably will file additional charges against them, Perezluha said. "
12:12 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Man Jailed for Declaring Parents Dead 40 Times: "Fri Dec 12, 3:48 PM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German has been jailed for declaring his parents dead 40 times in order to get charity hand-outs, a court said on Friday. Oh yeah -- they are alive and well.
The 31-year-old prevailed upon churches and individuals to part with about 6,000 euros ($7,300) in total to ease the pain of his mother's or father's 'passing,' a court spokesman in the western city of Bonn said.
He was sentenced to three years in jail for 40 successful acts of fraud.
'He would ask them for money to get to the funeral, usually his mother's, and then spend it on drugs,' the spokesman said.
The litany of faked deaths came to an end when a woman he approached for a donation became suspicious. "
12:11 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Shoppers Treated to Bare Flesh and Underwear: "Fri Dec 12,10:28 AM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - Shoppers in central Berlin on Friday were treated to the sight of scantily-clad live shop window 'dummies' flexing their muscles and baring their buttocks in a publicity stunt for men's underwear.
The three models aged between 20 and 29 drew catcalls from enthusiastic young women and looks of disapproval from elderly passers-by as they struck poses in a six-hour display.
Christiana Hoepfner, 37, pressed herself against the window to get a closer look and said the sight of the gyrating underpants had made a big impression on her. 'They're really great. I may have to get some for my boyfriend now."
12:57 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Man pays for petrol with nephew: "Mon Dec 1,12:47 AM ET
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A Cambodian who found he had forgotten his wallet after filling up his motorbike with petrol ended up paying for the three litres of petrol with his nephew.
The Kampuchea Thmey (New Cambodia) newspaper said on Monday the nine-year-old, who it named as Dy, had been on a trip with his uncle in March 2002 to try and track down his father in a nearby province in the war-scarred southeast Asian nation.
However, their motorbike ran out of petrol before reaching their destination and, after filling up with three litres of gasoline from a roadside stall, the uncle realised he had no money.
Eventually he convinced the old lady selling petrol to take his nephew as a guarantee he would return with the cash -- 87 pence, the paper said.
Nearly two years later, she is still waiting -- but has opted to keep the youngster.
'I have decided to take care of him and raise him as my own grandson,' she told the paper.
Despite a huge U.N.-backed reconstruction effort in the early 1990s, child rights remain a distant dream in Cambodia where society still bears the scars of decades of civil war, including the Khmer Rogue genocide of the 1970s. "
12:56 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Seven-year-old boy corrects Bush: "Tue Dec 2,11:17 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Young Terrance Martin could not let President George W. Bush get away with mistakenly saying he was just 6 years old when he was really 7.
It happened in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Tuesday when Bush signed the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003, which renews tax credits for adoptions and encourages families to find homes for more than 500,000 children in foster care.
Before signing the legislation Bush talked about the need for more adoptions as he stood with Christopher and Diana Martin and their seven children, four of them adopted.
Terrance interrupted the president in mid-speech under the glaring television lights to point out he was not 6.
'How old are you?' Bush asked.
'Seven,' said Terrance.
'OK, seven,' said Bush, as the crowd chuckled. 'I'll take it up with the fact-checker.' "
12:55 Posted by David
: "Tue Dec 2, 2:16 PM ET
REEDSVILLE, Pa. - After four decades of pinching pennies, a million in all, A Mifflin County man decided that it was time to cash in his collection.
It took several months of bank visits to bring in 37 buckets of pennies to be cashed but by the end, Lynn Wagner ended up with $10,060.
'I thought that it'd be interesting to have a million of these so I thought that I'd try,' he said.
Wagner, 53, collected one million pennies in August. The pennies were stacked along a wall in Wagner's garage in 4 1/2-gallon buckets.
'I can get 30,000 of them in one bucket if I shake it so that they settle to the bottom,' he said. 'That's $52 per gallon.'
Along with saving his own pennies, he also received contributions as word of his collection spread.
Friends and family began passing along a year's worth of pennies at Christmas. A waitress at the Honey Creek Inn, where Wagner and his wife Brenda eat breakfast every Saturday, saved pennies for him that customers left.
'I had people whom I didn't even know calling me. They'd say that a friend or brother had told them about this guy who collected pennies and asked if I wanted a jar of pennies they'd collected,' Wagner said.
'Some people think that pennies don't add up to anything, but this is proof that they do,' Brenda Wagner said. "
12:53 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Charity Theft Suspect Hit by Car in Ariz.: "Thu Dec 4, 7:54 AM ET
TUCSON, Ariz. - A man who stole a Salvation Army donation pot outside a drug store was hit by a car as he tried to run away, police said.
Edward Sanders, 40, grabbed the pot Tuesday and pulled it away after a short struggle with volunteer Patricia Parra, a 60-year-old woman who suffers from cerebral palsy, said South Tucson police Sgt. Dan Snyder.
As he started to run away, he was struck by a Honda sedan and police captured him.
The red pot and the $53.97 inside were returned to the Salvation Army, Snyder said.
'I think God has a poetic sense of justice,' he said.
Sanders, treated at University Medical Center, was arrested on suspicion of robbery and criminal damage. "
12:45 Posted by David
KTVU.com - News - Girlfriend Bites Boyfriend's Tongue Off: "Love Bites: Makeup Kiss Gone Horribly Wrong
WICHITA, Kan. -- Young lovers can sometimes lose their heads, but a young man in Kansas lost part of his tongue Monday night.
Police were called to a loud fight at a home in Wichita.
They say after an argument, the boyfriend tried to give the girlfriend a makeup kiss. Instead, she bit off a large part of his tongue.
Police recovered the piece, and it was reattached at a Wichita hospital.
The young woman faces charges of aggravated battery. Adding insult to injury, the boyfriend faces simple battery charges.
Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved."
12:43 Posted by David
KTVU.com - News - Speeding On Snowboard Lands Man Assault Conviction: "Ohio Man Guilty Of 3rd-Degree Assault For Crashing Into Ski Patroller
DURANGO, Colo. -- An Ohio man is going to jail for speeding ... on his snowboard.
Daniel Steaves, 22, was convicted of third-degree assault for crashing into a ski patroller and breaking the man's leg. Witnesses say Steaves was going 30 to 35 mph in a slow ski zone at Colorado's Durango Mountain Resort last season.
Witnesses say the ski patroller was blowing his whistle and trying to get Steaves to slow down at the time. The jury in the case didn't buy Steaves' contention the accident was the result of bad timing, bad luck and bad judgment -- but not recklessness.
Earlier this week, Steaves was sentenced to two days in jail and 75 hours of community service. He's been banned from the Durango slopes this season and must pay for the victim's medical expenses.
Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved."
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