Yahoo! News - Men beware: withholding sex can be grounds for separation, alimony: "Thu Mar 24, 2:26 PM ET
ROME (AFP) - Seven years of withholding sex went too far in the eyes of an Italian court, which ordered a Sicilian man to pay alimony to his wife for refusing conjugal relations.
The man, whose name was given only as Francesco, decided to punish his wife Piera after she opposed him in a family argument -- a punishment that lasted seven years.
The highest Italian appeals court called the man's actions -- or rather, inactions -- an 'offence to her dignity,' and said it constituted grounds for separation.
The court also ordered him to pay alimony to his now former wife and their children, born when their marriage saw happier times, and carry the legal costs of the case.
'The refusal to have sexual and affectionate relations over seven years with his wife constitutes a very serious offence to her dignity and has caused frustration with serious consequences for her psychological equilibrium,' the court judgement stated.
The behaviour is a violation of article 143 of the civil code which imposes a duty of moral and material assistance between husband and wife, the court ruled."
13:38 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Calif. Inmate Swallows Handcuff Key: "Fri Mar 25, 6:30 PM ET
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - A jail inmate swallowed his key to freedom. During a sweep of the high-security wing of the county jail, deputies discovered that Jose Angel Juarez had swallowed a handcuff key and set off the metal detector during a walkthrough screening.
Deputies weren't sure what set off the detector, but they knew the cause was in Juarez's midsection. A 1 1/2-inch handcuff key could be seen in Juarez's belly after deputies ordered him to take an X-ray.
'It's our belief that the inmate would be using this to escape from custody,' Lt. Craig Wilson said, adding that authorities don't know where Juarez got the key.
Juarez, 29, is awaiting trial on felony charges of conspiracy, assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, robbery and carjacking, stemming from a Dec. 18, 2003, robbery of Farm Fresh Produce.
His alleged partner in the robbery, Francisco Antonio Alvarado, 25, pleaded guilty in October to robbery, conspiracy, assault and receiving stolen property and was sentenced to 10 years, four months in prison."
13:34 Posted by David
Easter Bunny Gets Pummeled by Boy at Mall: "Sat Mar 26,12:59 PM ET
BAY CITY, Mich. - The Easter Bunny is hopping mad. Bryan Johnson, who portrays the furry character at the Bay City Mall, says he was pummeled in an unprovoked attack on the job. Police say the attacker was a 12-year-old boy who sat on Johnson's lap the day before the March 18 incident.
Johnson, 18, suffered a bloody nose. He kept his cool during the attack, deeming it inappropriate for the Easter Bunny to fight back. But he's not willing to forgive and forget.
'They (the sheriff's deputies) told me it was up to me, and I feel that the boy should be prosecuted,' Johnson told The Bay City Times.
Johnson told Bay County Sheriff's deputies that the boy hit him in the face at least six times before running away.
Bay County Sheriff John E. Miller said the youth has been in trouble in the past. The case will be forwarded to the Bay County prosecutor's office next week for action, he said.
Johnson, meanwhile, is back on the job at the mall, where he had been working as the Easter Bunny for about a week before the attack.
'I just like getting the kids to laugh and have fun,' he said. His job is to get his picture taken with children and make them laugh. That can be difficult because he is not allowed to speak while in costume.
Johnson said his 12-year-old attacker seemed perfectly happy the day before the incident. "Yeah, he came up and said, 'Hi,' and was sitting on my lap and talking," Johnson said. "He seemed OK."
But when he saw Johnson the next day, the boy didn't want to talk.
"He just started hitting," Johnson said."
13:31 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Runway Scarecrow Machine Lost in Translation: "Wed Mar 23,10:24 AM ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - China imported a U.S.-made scream machine to scare away the birds at Beijing airport -- except they didn't recognize the noises and refused to budge.
The bird-dispersing equipment had recorded the screams of American birds or the sounds of the birds' natural enemies, the Beijing Evening News said.
'Local birds did not understand the foreign language,' the newspaper said.
So Chinese experts 'translated' the U.S. bird noises into those of their Chinese counterparts.
'The workers have already recorded six or seven bird screams which are common in Beijing,' it said, adding that the new scare tactics were undergoing tests. "
13:29 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Driving Instructor Gives Lesson in Road Rage: "Thu Mar 24, 8:59 AM ET
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (Reuters) - A Dutch driving instructor hit a knife-wielding fellow motorist with a baseball bat during a fight over his student's skills, police said Wednesday.
'Words were exchanged between the instructor and the man who pulled a knife and then the other hit him with a baseball bat,' a police spokeswoman said.
The 27-year-old driving instructor and a 51-year-old man with a head injury and a mild concussion were arrested and must appear in court."
13:28 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - You Want Fingers with That?: "Thu Mar 24, 9:02 AM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A diner at a Wendy's fast food restaurant in San Jose, California, found a human finger in a bowl of chili prepared by the chain, local officials said on Wednesday.
'This individual apparently did take a spoonful, did have a finger in their mouth and then, you know, spit it out and recognized it,' said Ben Gale, director of the department of environmental health for Santa Clara County. 'Then they had some kind of emotional reaction and vomited.'
Local officials launched an investigation after the incident on Tuesday night and the medical examiner determined on Wednesday that the object was a human finger.
Officials are trying to determine if the finger came in the raw materials Wendy's used to prepare the chili, Gale said.
Wendy's International Inc. corporate office did not immediately return a call for comment. Wendy's is the third-largest hamburger chain. "
03:06 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Inmate Said Given Laxative As Prank: "Thu Mar 10, 7:41 PM ET
PARAGOULD, Ark. - A jailer gave a laxative to an inmate who had requested cold medicine, then taunted the man as he suffered severe diarrhea, authorities said.
Johnnie Dallas Pruett, 27, was fired and charged with battery in the March 1 incident involving 19-year-old Darryl R. Bartlett.
Sheriff's Capt. Jamie Martin said that after Bartlett asked for cold medicine, Pruett brought him three pink pills and a cup of water. The inmate took the pills, and Pruett began laughing and showed him a box of over-the-counter laxative pills.
Bartlett said that after an hour and a half, he developed severe stomach pains, vomited and had severe diarrhea. He said Pruett taunted him throughout the night and asked if he needed a diaper.
The inmate was in jail on a failure-to-appear warrant. "
03:05 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Landlord Uses 40 Cans of Roach Fumigate: "Fri Mar 11, 8:40 PM ET
STAMFORD, Conn. - Several tenants had to stay in a temporary shelter and a hotel because of a landlord's attempt to fumigate a ten-family home. The landlord apparently touched off 40 cans of cockroach fumigate at the same time Thursday morning.
'One can is plenty,' Dr. Johnnie Lee, the city's health director, who spent much of Thursday setting up a temporary shelter for tenants.
The incident forced about a dozen of the building's 50 tenants to spend the day across the street at the International School at Rogers Magnet School, health and fire officials said.
The tenants thought they would need to spend the night on cots in Rogers gymnasium, but the Stamford chapter of the American Red Cross put them up at a hotel, Lee said.
About a dozen tenants were in the house when the landlord released a cloud of roach poison near the front section of the large home at about 11 a.m. Thursday, Capt. Trevor Roach of the Stamford Fire & Rescue Department said. Officials said the excessive fumigation was a mistake.
One woman was hospitalized for minor respiratory problems, Lee said."
03:04 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Cafeteria Owner Stops Robber With Fries: "Fri Mar 11, 4:10 PM ET
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - A Dutch cafeteria owner used piping hot french fries to fend off a gun-wielding would-be robber, police in the southern city of Helmond said Friday.
Fries, or 'frites,' are a national snack in Holland and Belgium, where they are deep-fried in oil and then salted and eaten with mayonnaise and chopped onions.
It was not known if the culprit, whose age was estimated at 16, was burned. He had threatened the owner and his wife with a handgun Thursday night, police said.
'He wanted money,' a police report said. 'But once he had hot frites coming his way, he decided he had had enough.'
The fries were cooling in a pot when the owner threw them at the intruder.
Police described the youth, who is still at large, as 'thin, white, and with a plump nose.' "
03:03 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Doorbell Saves Four From Neb. House FireSat Mar 12, 7:21 PM ET
NORFOLK, Neb. - It's supposed to announce visitors, but the doorbell of a two-story house announced something else on Friday morning — that the home was on fire.
A fire was beginning to spread from the outside to the inside near the front door early Friday morning, said John Reding, Norfolk Fire and Rescue shift commander. As the fire moved past the front door, Reding said, the blaze shorted the doorbell's wires, which caused the bell to ring a fire alert to the four occupants of the house in this town about 90 miles northwest of Omaha.
The four men left the house and put out the fire with water from the outside, he said.
The home did have smoke detectors, but there were no batteries in them, Reding said.
There were no injuries and damage was contained to the front of the house. There was moderate smoke damage throughout. Damage was estimated at $2,500.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but it could have been caused by a discarded cigarette near the front of the house, said Terry Zweibel, Norfolk Fire Marshal.
03:01 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Pay Your Taxes, Pa-Rum-Pum-Pum-Pum....: "Fri Mar 11, 8:34 AM ET
HYDERABAD, India (Reuters) - Tax defaulters in southern India are being forced to face the music after city authorities hired drummers to play non-stop outside their homes until they pay up.
After many residents ignored repeated demands to settle overdue property taxes. authorities in a city in Andhra Pradesh state have sent 20 groups of drummers to play outside offenders' houses for the past week.
'They put up a spectacle outside the houses of defaulters, draw them out and explain their dues to them and the need to clear it at the earliest,' said T.S.R. Anjaneyulu, municipal commissioner of Rajahmundry city.
'They don't stop until people agree to clear the dues.'
The city, owed a total of 50 million rupees ($1.15 million), had been at its wits' end after sops like waiving interest and penalties had failed to recover the arrears.
The new method seems to be working, though. One week of incessant drumming has cleared 18 percent of the backlog. "
22:29 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Cat Survives 10-Mile Trip Atop Car: "Thu Mar 3,10:26 PM ET
INKOM, Idaho - Torri Hutchinson's cat might just have one less life to live. Hutchison was driving along Interstate 15 one day recently when a motorist kept trying to get her attention and pointing to the roof of her car. She said she was wary of the man, but wondered if perhaps her ski rack might have come loose.
She pulled over to the side, but kept her doors locked and the motor running.
The man pulled up behind her. Hutchinson rolled down her window to hear the man frantically shouting, 'Your cat! Your cat!'
He reached for the roof of her car and handed the shocked Hutchinson her orange tabby.
She had driven about 10 miles with the cat on top of the car, and didn't even notice the feline when she stopped for gas.
Hutchinson said Cuddle Bug, or C.B. for short, had climbed into the back of her car as she was getting ready to leave. She put him out, but he must have jumped on the roof while she wasn't looking, she said. "
22:28 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Boy Sets Off for School at Dead of Night: "Thu Mar 3,11:16 AM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - Astonished German police picked up an 8-year-old boy at 3 a.m. who had accidentally set off to school thinking he was late, authorities said Thursday.
'He seemed to have got into a panic he was late and went off to school by himself with his rucksack,' said a spokesman for police in the western city of Aachen. 'You'd think the parents weren't looking after him, but that wasn't the case here.'
Police found the boy as he was heading home after he discovered the school was still closed. "
20:08 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Car Thief Caught After Falling Asleep: "Mon Feb 28, 7:47 AM ET
By The Associated Press
RICHMOND, British Columbia - It wasn't hard for the Mounties to get their man in a car theft, even though it had not been reported.
Alerted by a passer-by, officers found a man asleep at the wheel of a car with the lights on early Sunday. The motor was running and a screwdriver was in the ignition, Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
The man was sleeping so soundly that police were unable to rouse him by yelling through a bullhorn. When they pounded on the door, he finally woke up, opened the door and emerged with the car in gear.
Officers responded quickly to keep the vehicle from rolling away.
A quick check established that the vehicle had just been stolen without the owner being aware, police said.
The man could make a court appearance as early as Monday on a charged of possessing stolen property and three counts of failing to comply with a probation order. "
20:07 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Naked Man Threatens Neighbors With Sword: "Tue Mar 1, 4:09 PM ET
NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa - A man threatened his neighbors with a sword after they complained about him being naked in his front yard, police said. Curtis D. Rarick, 44, was charged with assault while displaying a dangerous weapon.
Rarick had been naked in his yard and became angry when neighbors asked him to put clothes on Sunday afternoon, police said.
He went inside and came back out with a 2 1/2-feet long sword and began threatening the neighbors, court records show.
He was released from jail Monday after posting $2,000 bond
If convicted, Rarick could face up to two years in jail and a $5,000 fine.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 7. "
20:04 Posted by David
Yahoo! News - Teacher Has Sex with Pupil While Baby in Car: Cops: "Tue Mar 1,10:03 AM ET
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - A California high school teacher was arraigned on Monday at a Sacramento court accused of having sex with a student in a car as her two-year child was strapped into the back seat.
Margaret De Barraicua, 30, a teacher trainee, was charged with four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, a 16-year-old student. The married woman was caught having sex in the late afternoon last week in what was apparently a consensual agreement, officials said.
'We received a call about a suspicious parked vehicle at a school here in Sacramento,' said local police spokesman Justin Risley. 'They got there and observed two people, windows-steamed-up type of thing.'
'They found them to be partially clothed and engaging in what appeared to be sexual intercourse.'
Her two-year old son was strapped by a seat belt in the back of the car during the time, he said. "
