Beagle to be awarded for saving owner
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A 17-pound beagle named Belle is more than man's best friend. She's a lifesaver. Belle was in Washington, D.C., on Monday to receive an award for biting onto owner Kevin Weaver's cell phone to call 911 after the diabetic Ocoee man had a seizure and collapsed.
"There is no doubt in my mind that I'd be dead if I didn't have Belle," said Weaver, 34, whose blood sugar had dropped dangerously low. Belle had been trained to summon help in just those circumstances.
She was the first canine recipient to win the VITA Wireless Samaritan Award, given to someone who used a cell phone to save a life, prevent a crime or help in an emergency, the Orlando Sentinel reported Monday.
Weaver first heard about service dogs while he was working as a flight attendant after befriending a frequent passenger who taught dogs to help diabetic patients. Using their keen sense of smell, the animals can detect abnormalities in a person's blood-sugar levels.
The dog periodically licks Weaver's nose to take her own reading of his blood-sugar level. If something seems off to her, she will paw and whine at him.
"Every time she paws at me like that I grab my meter and test myself," Weaver said. "She's never been wrong."
TWW'S CRAZY NEWS STORIES
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Grenade-shaped belt buckle causes stir
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) - A belt buckle resembling a hand grenade caused the evacuation of part of a terminal at Salt Lake City International Airport on Monday, officials said.
The lobby and ticket counter areas of Terminal One were evacuated for about an hour after screeners saw a suspicious image while X-raying luggage, said Barbara Gann, a spokeswoman at the airport.
"It was a cast of a hand grenade, so half of a hand grenade and it appeared to be a grenade with a pin," Gann said. "It was wrapped around a bottle of cologne. So, it appeared to be an incendiary device with fuel."
The package was placed in a containment unit, taken to a remote section of the airport where it was detonated and its contents revealed, she said.
Gann said it was unclear how many people might have missed flights or if flights were delayed due to the evacuation.
Airport officials have identified the owner of the items, but that person was traveling ahead of his luggage and likely had no idea the trouble it caused, she said. Authorities were planning on speaking with the man, Gann said.
She said it was not likely that charges would be filed.
"It depends on the intent and the explanation and more of a detailed interview with this person, but most likely not," she said.
Gann said it is important for people to be cautious of what they pack and how it might appear during screening.
"This person wasn't impacted as much as the people who were evacuated," she said. "It was a severe reaction to someone's oversight."
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) - A belt buckle resembling a hand grenade caused the evacuation of part of a terminal at Salt Lake City International Airport on Monday, officials said.
The lobby and ticket counter areas of Terminal One were evacuated for about an hour after screeners saw a suspicious image while X-raying luggage, said Barbara Gann, a spokeswoman at the airport.
"It was a cast of a hand grenade, so half of a hand grenade and it appeared to be a grenade with a pin," Gann said. "It was wrapped around a bottle of cologne. So, it appeared to be an incendiary device with fuel."
The package was placed in a containment unit, taken to a remote section of the airport where it was detonated and its contents revealed, she said.
Gann said it was unclear how many people might have missed flights or if flights were delayed due to the evacuation.
Airport officials have identified the owner of the items, but that person was traveling ahead of his luggage and likely had no idea the trouble it caused, she said. Authorities were planning on speaking with the man, Gann said.
She said it was not likely that charges would be filed.
"It depends on the intent and the explanation and more of a detailed interview with this person, but most likely not," she said.
Gann said it is important for people to be cautious of what they pack and how it might appear during screening.
"This person wasn't impacted as much as the people who were evacuated," she said. "It was a severe reaction to someone's oversight."
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Teens hang dead opossum from overpass
NANUET, N.Y. (AP) - It's no surprise, in the New York suburbs, to see a deer dart across the road. An opossum hanging by a rope from an overpass, however, is a rarity.
Several motorists reported Monday that their cars had banged into the carcasses of a possum and a crow that had been tied up and then lowered over the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Nanuet, police said.
Three 16-year-olds were arrested. Their names were not made public. Clarkstown police, who cover Nanuet, said the teens apparently scraped the carcasses off Route 304 before hanging them above the parkway, just low enough to be hit by passing cars. At least one vehicle was damaged, police said.
The youths were charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.
NANUET, N.Y. (AP) - It's no surprise, in the New York suburbs, to see a deer dart across the road. An opossum hanging by a rope from an overpass, however, is a rarity.
Several motorists reported Monday that their cars had banged into the carcasses of a possum and a crow that had been tied up and then lowered over the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Nanuet, police said.
Three 16-year-olds were arrested. Their names were not made public. Clarkstown police, who cover Nanuet, said the teens apparently scraped the carcasses off Route 304 before hanging them above the parkway, just low enough to be hit by passing cars. At least one vehicle was damaged, police said.
The youths were charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.
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N.C. dog waste: Almost half don't clean up
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Almost half of North Carolina dog owners let the chips fall where they may and don't clean up after their animals, according to a statewide survey of how people handle their dogs' waste.
"It's a big water-quality problem," said Chrystal Bartlett, the state's stormwater awareness and outreach coordinator. "It's also an aesthetic problem."
The state's 1.8 million dogs deposit an estimated 681 tons of waste per day in the state, said Bartlett, who works for the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Chris Gonzalez, owner of Poop Away, said he has hauled away as much as 27 gallons of waste from a single yard. He hopes to expand his business from individual homes to subdivisions and apartments.
The survey conducted last year by the state and East Carolina University's Center for Survey Research found that:
• People in the 35-54 age group are least likely to scoop the poop.
• Women are more likely than men to clean up after their dogs.
• Those who never or rarely pick up what their dogs leave behind were tallied at 59 percent in rural areas, 49 percent in the suburbs and 47 percent in cities.
Animal and bird excrement rank among the top polluters of bodies of water, said Rachel Noble, a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's Institute of Marine Sciences in Moorhead City. She said it's possible that someone could become ill as a result of swimming in a pond contaminated with dog manure, although it's unlikely.
Julie Packard, immediate past president of the N.C. Veterinary Medical Association, said contact with feces-borne parasites, such as hookworm and roundworm, can infect people.
She said larvae left in the environment are longer lasting than the excrement.
Efforts to combat the problem are being made by the state, as well as private organizations and individuals.
Jennifer Burch, community manager at Wakefield Plantation and other neighborhoods, said PPM, a Research Triangle property management company, has begun installing dog waste stations with bags and a trash can in new neighborhoods. Dog-walkers don't always take the hint.
Charles Neely of southwest Raleigh has found his own way to stop the droppings.
Neely bought three signs with an icon showing a a dog caught in the act, with the negative icon of a red slash across a red circle. Two stand in his yard, with the third in a neighbor's.
"The signs did stop it. People respect the sign," he said. "They should respect the neighborhood."
___
Information from: The News & Observer
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Almost half of North Carolina dog owners let the chips fall where they may and don't clean up after their animals, according to a statewide survey of how people handle their dogs' waste.
"It's a big water-quality problem," said Chrystal Bartlett, the state's stormwater awareness and outreach coordinator. "It's also an aesthetic problem."
The state's 1.8 million dogs deposit an estimated 681 tons of waste per day in the state, said Bartlett, who works for the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Chris Gonzalez, owner of Poop Away, said he has hauled away as much as 27 gallons of waste from a single yard. He hopes to expand his business from individual homes to subdivisions and apartments.
The survey conducted last year by the state and East Carolina University's Center for Survey Research found that:
• People in the 35-54 age group are least likely to scoop the poop.
• Women are more likely than men to clean up after their dogs.
• Those who never or rarely pick up what their dogs leave behind were tallied at 59 percent in rural areas, 49 percent in the suburbs and 47 percent in cities.
Animal and bird excrement rank among the top polluters of bodies of water, said Rachel Noble, a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's Institute of Marine Sciences in Moorhead City. She said it's possible that someone could become ill as a result of swimming in a pond contaminated with dog manure, although it's unlikely.
Julie Packard, immediate past president of the N.C. Veterinary Medical Association, said contact with feces-borne parasites, such as hookworm and roundworm, can infect people.
She said larvae left in the environment are longer lasting than the excrement.
Efforts to combat the problem are being made by the state, as well as private organizations and individuals.
Jennifer Burch, community manager at Wakefield Plantation and other neighborhoods, said PPM, a Research Triangle property management company, has begun installing dog waste stations with bags and a trash can in new neighborhoods. Dog-walkers don't always take the hint.
Charles Neely of southwest Raleigh has found his own way to stop the droppings.
Neely bought three signs with an icon showing a a dog caught in the act, with the negative icon of a red slash across a red circle. Two stand in his yard, with the third in a neighbor's.
"The signs did stop it. People respect the sign," he said. "They should respect the neighborhood."
___
Information from: The News & Observer
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Sanctuary offers safe haven to Conn. cat
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - An animal sanctuary is offering a safe haven to Lewis the cat, a Fairfield feline whose vicious attacks on neighbors have landed his owner in court.
Neighbors say they have been terrorized by Lewis, claiming the gray and white cat has used his long claws and stealth to attack at least a half dozen people and ambush an Avon saleswoman.
The Best Friends Animal Society of Kanab, Utah, which claims to be the country's largest no-kill animal sanctuary, offered to take Lewis free of charge.
"He would be cared for by specialists who know how to handle cats with behavior problems," Russ Mead, Best Friends' general counsel, wrote to Superior Court Judge Patrick Carroll.
The judge is expected to decide Lewis' fate on Tuesday, when the cat's owner, Ruth Cisero, returns to court. Cisero, who was charge with second-degree reckless endangerment, earlier refused another judge's offer of special probation because it carried the condition that Lewis be put to death.
Cisero's attorney, Eugene Riccio, has described Lewis as "a member of her family."
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - An animal sanctuary is offering a safe haven to Lewis the cat, a Fairfield feline whose vicious attacks on neighbors have landed his owner in court.
Neighbors say they have been terrorized by Lewis, claiming the gray and white cat has used his long claws and stealth to attack at least a half dozen people and ambush an Avon saleswoman.
The Best Friends Animal Society of Kanab, Utah, which claims to be the country's largest no-kill animal sanctuary, offered to take Lewis free of charge.
"He would be cared for by specialists who know how to handle cats with behavior problems," Russ Mead, Best Friends' general counsel, wrote to Superior Court Judge Patrick Carroll.
The judge is expected to decide Lewis' fate on Tuesday, when the cat's owner, Ruth Cisero, returns to court. Cisero, who was charge with second-degree reckless endangerment, earlier refused another judge's offer of special probation because it carried the condition that Lewis be put to death.
Cisero's attorney, Eugene Riccio, has described Lewis as "a member of her family."
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For once, a bad boss could be a good thing...
By Peter Szekely
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. labor movement is asking workers to move their complaints about their bosses from the water cooler to the Web.
Working America, the AFL-CIO union federation's affiliate for nonunion workers, invited workers throughout the country on Monday to share their best stories about their worst bosses in its "My Bad Boss Contest."
Top prize is a one-week vacation.
"It's an opportunity for people to get this off their chests and to see what's happening out there and to shine a spotlight on this," said Working America Executive Director Karen Nussbaum.
It's also an opportunity for the worker advocacy group, which has more than 1 million members, to pick up new members, since contestants must go to http://www.workingamerica.org to enter.
Standing by to weigh in with on-line comments about the worst-boss stories are author Barbara Ehrenreich, who chronicled the plight of the working poor in "Nickel and Dimed," comedian tuned liberal talk show host Al Franken and liberal commentator Jim Hightower.
Voting for the best worst-boss stories will be done by Web readers over the next six weeks. Each week's top vote-getter will be eligible to compete for the grand prize, a seven-night vacation getaway and $1000 for a round trip air fare, to be announced by August 16
Leading vote-getters as of Monday were:
-- "Russ," whose table-thumping boss at a small Maryland company nixed bonuses, cut overtime and ordered managers to "instill fear" in workers to boost productivity, all because a competing company's owner had a more expensive car, and
-- "Graphics Girl," who left her Pennsylvania media company, and was publicly berated for doing so, after 10 years, including the last five where she worked 50 to 80 hours a week without overtime pay and often without seeing her children. "I missed birthdays and health and years of seasons changing since my office was in a basement with no windows, all for nothing," she wrote.
"It's important to legitimize for people that when you're treated unfairly on the job, that it's not necessarily something you have to swallow," commented Nussbaum.
And then there was "Nobody" from California who warned others by his own example of the perils of entering the contest from a workplace computer. "The fact that my entire Internet connection is monitored by my employer prohibits me from making a contribution," he wrote.
By Peter Szekely
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. labor movement is asking workers to move their complaints about their bosses from the water cooler to the Web.
Working America, the AFL-CIO union federation's affiliate for nonunion workers, invited workers throughout the country on Monday to share their best stories about their worst bosses in its "My Bad Boss Contest."
Top prize is a one-week vacation.
"It's an opportunity for people to get this off their chests and to see what's happening out there and to shine a spotlight on this," said Working America Executive Director Karen Nussbaum.
It's also an opportunity for the worker advocacy group, which has more than 1 million members, to pick up new members, since contestants must go to http://www.workingamerica.org to enter.
Standing by to weigh in with on-line comments about the worst-boss stories are author Barbara Ehrenreich, who chronicled the plight of the working poor in "Nickel and Dimed," comedian tuned liberal talk show host Al Franken and liberal commentator Jim Hightower.
Voting for the best worst-boss stories will be done by Web readers over the next six weeks. Each week's top vote-getter will be eligible to compete for the grand prize, a seven-night vacation getaway and $1000 for a round trip air fare, to be announced by August 16
Leading vote-getters as of Monday were:
-- "Russ," whose table-thumping boss at a small Maryland company nixed bonuses, cut overtime and ordered managers to "instill fear" in workers to boost productivity, all because a competing company's owner had a more expensive car, and
-- "Graphics Girl," who left her Pennsylvania media company, and was publicly berated for doing so, after 10 years, including the last five where she worked 50 to 80 hours a week without overtime pay and often without seeing her children. "I missed birthdays and health and years of seasons changing since my office was in a basement with no windows, all for nothing," she wrote.
"It's important to legitimize for people that when you're treated unfairly on the job, that it's not necessarily something you have to swallow," commented Nussbaum.
And then there was "Nobody" from California who warned others by his own example of the perils of entering the contest from a workplace computer. "The fact that my entire Internet connection is monitored by my employer prohibits me from making a contribution," he wrote.
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Wife accused in swordplay death of husband
BEIJING, China (Reuters) - A Chinese woman has been charged with accidentally killing her husband with a sword after he refused to make her dinner, the Shanghai Daily said on Tuesday.
Police said Tang Xiaowan, 25, who has been practicing swordsmanship since she was young, had often forced her husband of three years at swordpoint to carry out her demands.
On March 3, her husband, Li Weidong, refused to cook dinner because he was late for work.
Police said Tang picked up her sword and put it on Li's chest and promptly slipped, stabbing Li by mistake.
Li died in hospital from loss of blood.
Tang was arrested Monday and charged with manslaughter.
BEIJING, China (Reuters) - A Chinese woman has been charged with accidentally killing her husband with a sword after he refused to make her dinner, the Shanghai Daily said on Tuesday.
Police said Tang Xiaowan, 25, who has been practicing swordsmanship since she was young, had often forced her husband of three years at swordpoint to carry out her demands.
On March 3, her husband, Li Weidong, refused to cook dinner because he was late for work.
Police said Tang picked up her sword and put it on Li's chest and promptly slipped, stabbing Li by mistake.
Li died in hospital from loss of blood.
Tang was arrested Monday and charged with manslaughter.
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Cheaters score high marks for ingenuity
BEIJING, China (Reuters) - Using microscopic earphones and wireless devices, Chinese students upped the ante in the high-tech battle to counter cheating during university entrance exams this month, putting some in hospital as a result.
With 9.5 million students competing for only 2.6 million vacancies, some universities installed cameras and mobile-phone blocking technology at exam halls to foil the cheats.
But students "racked their brains" and in some cases injured themselves with "low-quality devices" to come up with new ways to cheat, state media reported Tuesday, underlining the highly competitive nature of education in China.
A student in Wuhan, capital of China's central province of Hubei, used earphones so small that they slipped into his aural canal and perforated his eardrum, the China Daily newspaper said.
Another student's earphones required an operation for their removal, the paper said, while an electronic device connected to headphones and strapped to a third student's body exploded, leaving a bleeding hole in his abdomen.
Supervisors at an exam hall in Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province, found over 100 "cheating tools" including earphones hidden in vests, wallets and waistbands, the paper said.
BEIJING, China (Reuters) - Using microscopic earphones and wireless devices, Chinese students upped the ante in the high-tech battle to counter cheating during university entrance exams this month, putting some in hospital as a result.
With 9.5 million students competing for only 2.6 million vacancies, some universities installed cameras and mobile-phone blocking technology at exam halls to foil the cheats.
But students "racked their brains" and in some cases injured themselves with "low-quality devices" to come up with new ways to cheat, state media reported Tuesday, underlining the highly competitive nature of education in China.
A student in Wuhan, capital of China's central province of Hubei, used earphones so small that they slipped into his aural canal and perforated his eardrum, the China Daily newspaper said.
Another student's earphones required an operation for their removal, the paper said, while an electronic device connected to headphones and strapped to a third student's body exploded, leaving a bleeding hole in his abdomen.
Supervisors at an exam hall in Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province, found over 100 "cheating tools" including earphones hidden in vests, wallets and waistbands, the paper said.
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Shops still selling knives to children
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Children as young as 12 are still able to buy knives in British shops, despite months of publicity about fatal stabbings, a survey has found.
Children aged 12 to 14 were able to buy knives on 28 percent of attempts, according to the Trading Standards Institute (TSI).
"Year after year we have highlighted the problem of under-age sales, particularly of dangerous items such as knives and alcohol," TSI Chief Executive Ron Gainsford said in a statement Tuesday.
"So it is extremely disturbing to find that so many traders are still prepared to sell knives to people who are under 16."
The TSI is backing calls for the legal age for knife purchases to be raised to 18 years.
Young volunteers taking part in the TSI survey bought knives on 53 out of 184 attempts.
A sting carried out in Romford, Essex, found that five knives were sold to under 16s by all five shops visited within just three hours -- with some of the purchases being six-inch blades.
In Northamptonshire, two 13-year-old boys were sold knives on five out of 10 attempts. These included long-bladed kitchen knives and a Stanley box-cutting knife.
In Slough, a boy aged 12 and girl aged 13 bought a 10-piece knife set, two carving knives and a 20 cm bread knife.
But illegal sales of knives to under 16s seem to be decreasing in the light of a Home Office knife amnesty and recent media coverage of knife crime, Gainsford said.
The TSI findings are based on test purchases carried out by 14 trading standards services across England and Wales.
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Children as young as 12 are still able to buy knives in British shops, despite months of publicity about fatal stabbings, a survey has found.
Children aged 12 to 14 were able to buy knives on 28 percent of attempts, according to the Trading Standards Institute (TSI).
"Year after year we have highlighted the problem of under-age sales, particularly of dangerous items such as knives and alcohol," TSI Chief Executive Ron Gainsford said in a statement Tuesday.
"So it is extremely disturbing to find that so many traders are still prepared to sell knives to people who are under 16."
The TSI is backing calls for the legal age for knife purchases to be raised to 18 years.
Young volunteers taking part in the TSI survey bought knives on 53 out of 184 attempts.
A sting carried out in Romford, Essex, found that five knives were sold to under 16s by all five shops visited within just three hours -- with some of the purchases being six-inch blades.
In Northamptonshire, two 13-year-old boys were sold knives on five out of 10 attempts. These included long-bladed kitchen knives and a Stanley box-cutting knife.
In Slough, a boy aged 12 and girl aged 13 bought a 10-piece knife set, two carving knives and a 20 cm bread knife.
But illegal sales of knives to under 16s seem to be decreasing in the light of a Home Office knife amnesty and recent media coverage of knife crime, Gainsford said.
The TSI findings are based on test purchases carried out by 14 trading standards services across England and Wales.
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Make-up artists surprise primetime news
MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) - Viewers were treated to an unscheduled behind-the-scenes look at Russia's primetime television news Monday when make-up artists wandered onto the set and started touching up the presenters.
Anchors on NTV channel's main evening news, Olga Belova and Anton Khrekov, were introducing a report on the candidacy of a new general prosecutor when two women appeared and started dusting powder on Khrekov's face.
The presenters struggled to make the intruders understand they were live on air, while a man in a white T-shirt nonchalantly handed out sheets of green paper.
"We are in the picture, we are in the picture," Belova said with a slight smile, while Khrekov stared impassively at the camera, outwardly unmoved while a comb ran through his hair and a make-up brush advanced across his face.
NTV news was renowned for its independent coverage in the 1990s, but became more muted in its criticism of the Kremlin after it was taken over by gas giant Gazprom in 2000.
MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) - Viewers were treated to an unscheduled behind-the-scenes look at Russia's primetime television news Monday when make-up artists wandered onto the set and started touching up the presenters.
Anchors on NTV channel's main evening news, Olga Belova and Anton Khrekov, were introducing a report on the candidacy of a new general prosecutor when two women appeared and started dusting powder on Khrekov's face.
The presenters struggled to make the intruders understand they were live on air, while a man in a white T-shirt nonchalantly handed out sheets of green paper.
"We are in the picture, we are in the picture," Belova said with a slight smile, while Khrekov stared impassively at the camera, outwardly unmoved while a comb ran through his hair and a make-up brush advanced across his face.
NTV news was renowned for its independent coverage in the 1990s, but became more muted in its criticism of the Kremlin after it was taken over by gas giant Gazprom in 2000.
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Tailing a monkey man in search of healing powers
KOLKATA (Reuters) - Thousands of people are flocking to an impoverished Indian village in eastern West Bengal state to worship a man they believe possesses divine powers because he climbs up trees in seconds, gobbles up bananas and has a "tail."
Devotees say 27-year-old villager Chandre Oraon is an incarnation of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman -- worshipped by millions as a symbol of physical strength, perseverance and devotion.
"He climbs up trees, behaves like a monkey and is a strict vegetarian, but he is no god and his condition is just a congenital defect," says Bhushan Chakraborty, the local medical officer.
Tucked away in a hamlet in Banarhat, over 400 miles north of Kolkata, the state capital, devotees wait for hours to see or touch Oraon's 13-inch tail, believing that it has healing powers.
Doctors said the "tail" -- made up of some flesh but mostly of dark hair -- was simply a rare physical attribute.
"It is a congenital anomaly, but very rarely do we find such cases," B. Ramana, a Kolkata-based surgeon, told Reuters.
KOLKATA (Reuters) - Thousands of people are flocking to an impoverished Indian village in eastern West Bengal state to worship a man they believe possesses divine powers because he climbs up trees in seconds, gobbles up bananas and has a "tail."
Devotees say 27-year-old villager Chandre Oraon is an incarnation of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman -- worshipped by millions as a symbol of physical strength, perseverance and devotion.
"He climbs up trees, behaves like a monkey and is a strict vegetarian, but he is no god and his condition is just a congenital defect," says Bhushan Chakraborty, the local medical officer.
Tucked away in a hamlet in Banarhat, over 400 miles north of Kolkata, the state capital, devotees wait for hours to see or touch Oraon's 13-inch tail, believing that it has healing powers.
Doctors said the "tail" -- made up of some flesh but mostly of dark hair -- was simply a rare physical attribute.
"It is a congenital anomaly, but very rarely do we find such cases," B. Ramana, a Kolkata-based surgeon, told Reuters.
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Judge spares life of Lewis the Cat
By PAT EATON-ROBB, Associated Press Writer
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - A state judge spared the life of alleged neighbor-assaulter Lewis the cat on Tuesday, but ordered that he remain inside his owner's Fairfield home at all times.
"There are no exceptions. None," said Judge Patrick Carroll, who also granted accelerated rehabilitation to Lewis' owner, Ruth Cisero. That means her record will be expunged if she successfully completes two years of probation.
Cisero had faced a charge of reckless endangerment because neighbors complained that the cat's long claws and stealth have allowed it to attack at least a half-dozen people and ambush the Avon lady as she was getting out of her car.
Cisero had fought to keep Lewis alive and in Connecticut. She rejected a previous offer of accelerated rehabilitation if she agreed to euthanize Lewis.
Carroll said Lewis cannot leave the house, even if he gets out accidentally. He said the case is not about a cat, but about people having the right to live in safety in their neighborhoods.
The case drew national attention. Lewis has appeared in People magazine and his own page on the social networking site MySpace.com.
But Cisero said Tuesday she would prefer to have never had the attention.
"I never thought it would come to this," she said. "It's been an absolute nightmare. It's ruined my life."
The Best Friends Animal Society of Kanab, Utah, had also offered to take Lewis free of charge. The cat sanctuary can accommodate about 600 cats in climate-controlled bungalows and has specialists who know how to handle cats with behavior problems.
"If necessary to save the life of Lewis the cat, we agree to provide Lewis with a place to live out his life at our sanctuary," Russ Mead, Best Friends' general counsel, wrote in a letter to Carroll.
Eugene Riccio, Cisero's attorney, said Lewis enjoys life in southern New England and preferred to stay here.
Mead said Lewis would be no threat to the public in Utah because the sanctuary's closest neighbor is Denny's Wigwam, a curio shop about four miles away.
The owner of the shop, Victor Sandonato, said he has already been warned that Lewis might be moving to his neighborhood.
"I live with a cat just like Lewis, and I live with danger every time I go home at night," he said, adding, "I'm from South Jersey, so I don't take any crap from a cat."
By PAT EATON-ROBB, Associated Press Writer
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - A state judge spared the life of alleged neighbor-assaulter Lewis the cat on Tuesday, but ordered that he remain inside his owner's Fairfield home at all times.
"There are no exceptions. None," said Judge Patrick Carroll, who also granted accelerated rehabilitation to Lewis' owner, Ruth Cisero. That means her record will be expunged if she successfully completes two years of probation.
Cisero had faced a charge of reckless endangerment because neighbors complained that the cat's long claws and stealth have allowed it to attack at least a half-dozen people and ambush the Avon lady as she was getting out of her car.
Cisero had fought to keep Lewis alive and in Connecticut. She rejected a previous offer of accelerated rehabilitation if she agreed to euthanize Lewis.
Carroll said Lewis cannot leave the house, even if he gets out accidentally. He said the case is not about a cat, but about people having the right to live in safety in their neighborhoods.
The case drew national attention. Lewis has appeared in People magazine and his own page on the social networking site MySpace.com.
But Cisero said Tuesday she would prefer to have never had the attention.
"I never thought it would come to this," she said. "It's been an absolute nightmare. It's ruined my life."
The Best Friends Animal Society of Kanab, Utah, had also offered to take Lewis free of charge. The cat sanctuary can accommodate about 600 cats in climate-controlled bungalows and has specialists who know how to handle cats with behavior problems.
"If necessary to save the life of Lewis the cat, we agree to provide Lewis with a place to live out his life at our sanctuary," Russ Mead, Best Friends' general counsel, wrote in a letter to Carroll.
Eugene Riccio, Cisero's attorney, said Lewis enjoys life in southern New England and preferred to stay here.
Mead said Lewis would be no threat to the public in Utah because the sanctuary's closest neighbor is Denny's Wigwam, a curio shop about four miles away.
The owner of the shop, Victor Sandonato, said he has already been warned that Lewis might be moving to his neighborhood.
"I live with a cat just like Lewis, and I live with danger every time I go home at night," he said, adding, "I'm from South Jersey, so I don't take any crap from a cat."
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TexasStooge
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Giant eco-flower is urban oasis for Londoners
LONDON, England (Reuters) - A giant eco-friendly kinetic "flower" is offering Londoners an escape from the heat and stress of city streets.
Designed by architect Laurie Chetwood, the 12-metre-high structure, called the Oasis, has a wind turbine on top and branches which open and close in response to the sun and moon and use daylight to generate power.
Inside the blooms of the flower, Chetwood has made five "people pods" which visitors pull down over their heads.
Here they can retreat from the busy streets to breathe clean, cooled air while listening to relaxing music and birdsong -- safe in the knowledge that the Oasis is powered by recycled natural resources.
"It's somewhere to really get away from it all," Chetwood told Reuters.
LONDON, England (Reuters) - A giant eco-friendly kinetic "flower" is offering Londoners an escape from the heat and stress of city streets.
Designed by architect Laurie Chetwood, the 12-metre-high structure, called the Oasis, has a wind turbine on top and branches which open and close in response to the sun and moon and use daylight to generate power.
Inside the blooms of the flower, Chetwood has made five "people pods" which visitors pull down over their heads.
Here they can retreat from the busy streets to breathe clean, cooled air while listening to relaxing music and birdsong -- safe in the knowledge that the Oasis is powered by recycled natural resources.
"It's somewhere to really get away from it all," Chetwood told Reuters.
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TexasStooge
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Nose spray lowers stress during spats
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A little squirt of a hormone that relaxes women during childbirth and breastfeeding helped lower stress in both men and women who were quarrelling, a researcher reported on Tuesday.
Levels of a stress hormone called cortisol dropped significantly in the men and women given oxytocin, Beate Ditzen, a psychologist at Emory University in Atlanta, told the International Congress of Neuroendocrinology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre.
While they are nowhere close to developing a marital harmony drug, the researchers believe they may be on the trail of a way to help battle stress and, possibly, reduce conflict.
"I think it really could reduce stress," Ditzen said in a telephone interview.
Ditzen, then at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, and colleagues at the University of Fribourg tested 50 heterosexual couples, asking them to discuss a subject that they often disagreed about.
Half the couples first got a nasal spray of a medical preparation of oxytocin, used to help induce labour contractions in women, and half got a dummy spray.
Then they were encouraged to hash it out, on videotape.
This fits in with studies done in rodents, as well as in primates such as monkeys, Ditzen said. Several studies have shown that oxytocin affects sexual relationships among animals.
"It might be interesting to study how this is endogenously stimulated," Ditzen said. Such a treatment might be safer and would be preferable to giving someone drugs that can have side-effects.
Ditzen even tried some oxytocin herself.
"I tried to have a fight exactly like I told my subjects in the studies to do -- I asked my boyfriend and he took it as well, and we fought a bit," she said.
Fighting in laboratory conditions is probably artificial, Ditzen acknowledged, but she said the changes in cortisol levels were worth following up in further studies.
Ditzen does not believe oxytocin could or should be used as a medical marital aid.
"I think conflict in general is not a medical condition that should be treated," she said.
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A little squirt of a hormone that relaxes women during childbirth and breastfeeding helped lower stress in both men and women who were quarrelling, a researcher reported on Tuesday.
Levels of a stress hormone called cortisol dropped significantly in the men and women given oxytocin, Beate Ditzen, a psychologist at Emory University in Atlanta, told the International Congress of Neuroendocrinology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre.
While they are nowhere close to developing a marital harmony drug, the researchers believe they may be on the trail of a way to help battle stress and, possibly, reduce conflict.
"I think it really could reduce stress," Ditzen said in a telephone interview.
Ditzen, then at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, and colleagues at the University of Fribourg tested 50 heterosexual couples, asking them to discuss a subject that they often disagreed about.
Half the couples first got a nasal spray of a medical preparation of oxytocin, used to help induce labour contractions in women, and half got a dummy spray.
Then they were encouraged to hash it out, on videotape.
This fits in with studies done in rodents, as well as in primates such as monkeys, Ditzen said. Several studies have shown that oxytocin affects sexual relationships among animals.
"It might be interesting to study how this is endogenously stimulated," Ditzen said. Such a treatment might be safer and would be preferable to giving someone drugs that can have side-effects.
Ditzen even tried some oxytocin herself.
"I tried to have a fight exactly like I told my subjects in the studies to do -- I asked my boyfriend and he took it as well, and we fought a bit," she said.
Fighting in laboratory conditions is probably artificial, Ditzen acknowledged, but she said the changes in cortisol levels were worth following up in further studies.
Ditzen does not believe oxytocin could or should be used as a medical marital aid.
"I think conflict in general is not a medical condition that should be treated," she said.
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TexasStooge
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Woman discovers co-worker is her mother
ELDRIDGE, Iowa (AP) - Michelle Wetzell, who was adopted when she was 4 days old, wanted to find her birth mother. She didn't know it at the time, but all she had to do was look at the woman sitting behind the receptionist's desk in the hair salon where she worked.
Wetzell remembers telling her co-workers in 1996 at the Davenport salon that she wanted to meet her biological mother.
In February, she learned her mother had been a co-worker at the salon, just out of earshot of what Wetzell was telling her co-workers.
"There she was, the whole time," Wetzell said.
She began her search for her biological mother late last year after a blood test showed she had a high cholesterol level, which raised questions about her family medical history.
A doctor told her she needed to look into whether she had a family history of heart disease or other illnesses.
Wetzell went to the agency that handled her adoption and it agreed to facilitate contact between Wetzell and her biological family. A case worker at the agency noticed both women had worked in cosmetology and told Wetzell, who asked for more details.
After they figured out that the mother and daughter had once worked together, the caseworker called Cathy Henzen, 55, to tell her that her daughter was a former co-worker.
"I was like, 'Oh my gosh,'" Henzen said.
Wetzell and Henzen spoke on the phone that day. A week later they met at a restaurant.
They have spoken or met every few days, as they try to determine where the relationship will lead.
ELDRIDGE, Iowa (AP) - Michelle Wetzell, who was adopted when she was 4 days old, wanted to find her birth mother. She didn't know it at the time, but all she had to do was look at the woman sitting behind the receptionist's desk in the hair salon where she worked.
Wetzell remembers telling her co-workers in 1996 at the Davenport salon that she wanted to meet her biological mother.
In February, she learned her mother had been a co-worker at the salon, just out of earshot of what Wetzell was telling her co-workers.
"There she was, the whole time," Wetzell said.
She began her search for her biological mother late last year after a blood test showed she had a high cholesterol level, which raised questions about her family medical history.
A doctor told her she needed to look into whether she had a family history of heart disease or other illnesses.
Wetzell went to the agency that handled her adoption and it agreed to facilitate contact between Wetzell and her biological family. A case worker at the agency noticed both women had worked in cosmetology and told Wetzell, who asked for more details.
After they figured out that the mother and daughter had once worked together, the caseworker called Cathy Henzen, 55, to tell her that her daughter was a former co-worker.
"I was like, 'Oh my gosh,'" Henzen said.
Wetzell and Henzen spoke on the phone that day. A week later they met at a restaurant.
They have spoken or met every few days, as they try to determine where the relationship will lead.
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TexasStooge
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Excitement blamed for three deaths
SHANGHAI, China (Reuters) - Over-excitement during World Cup games has been blamed for the deaths of at least three fans in China and one man broke several bones when he fell from a Hong Kong balcony, the Shanghai Daily reported on Wednesday.
The rash of disasters had prompted doctors to urge fans to monitor their moods during games and keep an eye on their drinking and blood pressure, it said.
China is obsessed with football but is six hours ahead of Germany, meaning many of the games are shown late at night or in the early hours of the morning -- peak drinking times.
A young man named Wang, watching a game on June 10 at a bar in Changsha, the capital of southern Hunan province, drank too much and died at four the following morning, the newspaper said.
Four days later, a woman surnamed Wei, who suffered from high blood pressure, was watching South Korea vs Togo in Hangzhou, near Shanghai.
"She took a shower, went to bed and later died," the newspaper said.
The same day, Li Zhenbao, 27, died in his sleep in Hong Kong after staying up all night to watch three games in a row.
"Doctors suspected he died of a heart attack brought on by over-excitement," the newspaper said.
Ge Zuquan, 29, grew so excited during the game between the Netherlands and Ivory Coast that he ran to his fourth-floor Hong Kong balcony and jumped in the air.
"But he bounced over the railing," the newspaper said. "Doctors said he could have been paralyzed."
As it was, he merely broke bones in his spine, hip, ankle and wrist.
SHANGHAI, China (Reuters) - Over-excitement during World Cup games has been blamed for the deaths of at least three fans in China and one man broke several bones when he fell from a Hong Kong balcony, the Shanghai Daily reported on Wednesday.
The rash of disasters had prompted doctors to urge fans to monitor their moods during games and keep an eye on their drinking and blood pressure, it said.
China is obsessed with football but is six hours ahead of Germany, meaning many of the games are shown late at night or in the early hours of the morning -- peak drinking times.
A young man named Wang, watching a game on June 10 at a bar in Changsha, the capital of southern Hunan province, drank too much and died at four the following morning, the newspaper said.
Four days later, a woman surnamed Wei, who suffered from high blood pressure, was watching South Korea vs Togo in Hangzhou, near Shanghai.
"She took a shower, went to bed and later died," the newspaper said.
The same day, Li Zhenbao, 27, died in his sleep in Hong Kong after staying up all night to watch three games in a row.
"Doctors suspected he died of a heart attack brought on by over-excitement," the newspaper said.
Ge Zuquan, 29, grew so excited during the game between the Netherlands and Ivory Coast that he ran to his fourth-floor Hong Kong balcony and jumped in the air.
"But he bounced over the railing," the newspaper said. "Doctors said he could have been paralyzed."
As it was, he merely broke bones in his spine, hip, ankle and wrist.
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TexasStooge
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Fla. restaurant sells $100 hamburger
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) - A hundred bucks might buy you more than six dozen burgers from McDonald's, but the the swanky Old Homestead Steakhouse will sell you one brawny beef sandwich for the same price.
Boca Raton Mayor Steven Abrams could barely speak between bites as he devoured the 20-ounce, $100 hamburger billed as the "beluga caviar of sandwiches."
"Heaven on a bun," restaurant owner Marc Sherry said.
The burger debuted Tuesday at the restaurant in the Boca Raton Resort and Club, where a membership costs $40,000 and an additional $3,600 a year.
"We've never had a hamburger on our menu here so we really wanted to go to the extreme," Sherry said, calling it "the most decadent burger in the world."
At about 5 1/2 inches across and 2 1/2 inches thick, the mound of meat is comprised of beef from three continents — American prime beef, Japanese Kobe and Argentine cattle.
The bill for one burger, with garnishing that includes organic greens, exotic mushrooms and tomatoes, comes out to $124.50 with tax and an 18 percent tip included. The restaurant will donate $10 from each sale to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
___
On the Net: Old Homestead Steak House
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) - A hundred bucks might buy you more than six dozen burgers from McDonald's, but the the swanky Old Homestead Steakhouse will sell you one brawny beef sandwich for the same price.
Boca Raton Mayor Steven Abrams could barely speak between bites as he devoured the 20-ounce, $100 hamburger billed as the "beluga caviar of sandwiches."
"Heaven on a bun," restaurant owner Marc Sherry said.
The burger debuted Tuesday at the restaurant in the Boca Raton Resort and Club, where a membership costs $40,000 and an additional $3,600 a year.
"We've never had a hamburger on our menu here so we really wanted to go to the extreme," Sherry said, calling it "the most decadent burger in the world."
At about 5 1/2 inches across and 2 1/2 inches thick, the mound of meat is comprised of beef from three continents — American prime beef, Japanese Kobe and Argentine cattle.
The bill for one burger, with garnishing that includes organic greens, exotic mushrooms and tomatoes, comes out to $124.50 with tax and an 18 percent tip included. The restaurant will donate $10 from each sale to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
___
On the Net: Old Homestead Steak House
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TexasStooge
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Fluffernutter sandwich angers Mass. senator
By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press Writer
BOSTON, Mass. - It's creamy, it's sweet and it's become a staple of lunch boxes for generations of New England school children.
Now, the beloved Fluffernutter sandwich — the irresistible combination of Marshmallow Fluff and peanut butter, preferably on white bread with a glass of milk handy — finds itself at the center of a sticky political debate.
Sen. Jarrett Barrios was outraged that his son Nathaniel, a third-grader, was given a Fluffernutter sandwich at the King Open School in Cambridge. He said he plans to file legislation that would ban schools from offering the local delicacy more than once a week as the main meal of the day.
The Democrat said that his amendment to a bill on junk food in schools may seem "a little silly" — but that school nutrition is serious.
His proposal seemed anything but silly to Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein, a Democrat whose district in Revere is near the company that has produced the marshmallow concoction for more than 80 years, Durkee-Mower Inc.
She responded with a proposal to designate the Fluffernutter the "official sandwich of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."
"I'm going to fight to the death for Fluff," Reinstein said.
An aide to Barrios insisted the senator is not anti-Fluff and even plans to co-sponsor Reinstein's bill, although he still believes schools should cut back on Fluffernutters.
"He loves Fluff as much as the next legislator," aide Colin Durrant said.
Fluff has a long history in Massachusetts. The treat was popularized by H. Allen Durkee and Fred L. Mower, who cooked up the concoction in their kitchen at night and sold it door to door during the day.
Durkee and Mower purchased the recipe for Fluff for $500 from another Massachusetts man, Archibald Query, and also sold it door to door before wartime shortages shut down his operations. Query lived in Somerville, which is part of Barrios' district.
The company didn't immediately return a call for comment Tuesday.
Since its invention, legions of New England kids have grown up on Fluffernutters. Parents have used the sandwich as a food of last resort for finicky eaters, sometimes adding banana slices to complement the protein of the peanut butter.
___
On the Net: Marshmallow Fluff
_____________________________________________________________
Another product that's causing a stir: Chocolate Covered Hamwinkies.
Image courtesy of E!'s "The Soup"
By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press Writer
BOSTON, Mass. - It's creamy, it's sweet and it's become a staple of lunch boxes for generations of New England school children.
Now, the beloved Fluffernutter sandwich — the irresistible combination of Marshmallow Fluff and peanut butter, preferably on white bread with a glass of milk handy — finds itself at the center of a sticky political debate.
Sen. Jarrett Barrios was outraged that his son Nathaniel, a third-grader, was given a Fluffernutter sandwich at the King Open School in Cambridge. He said he plans to file legislation that would ban schools from offering the local delicacy more than once a week as the main meal of the day.
The Democrat said that his amendment to a bill on junk food in schools may seem "a little silly" — but that school nutrition is serious.
His proposal seemed anything but silly to Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein, a Democrat whose district in Revere is near the company that has produced the marshmallow concoction for more than 80 years, Durkee-Mower Inc.
She responded with a proposal to designate the Fluffernutter the "official sandwich of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."
"I'm going to fight to the death for Fluff," Reinstein said.
An aide to Barrios insisted the senator is not anti-Fluff and even plans to co-sponsor Reinstein's bill, although he still believes schools should cut back on Fluffernutters.
"He loves Fluff as much as the next legislator," aide Colin Durrant said.
Fluff has a long history in Massachusetts. The treat was popularized by H. Allen Durkee and Fred L. Mower, who cooked up the concoction in their kitchen at night and sold it door to door during the day.
Durkee and Mower purchased the recipe for Fluff for $500 from another Massachusetts man, Archibald Query, and also sold it door to door before wartime shortages shut down his operations. Query lived in Somerville, which is part of Barrios' district.
The company didn't immediately return a call for comment Tuesday.
Since its invention, legions of New England kids have grown up on Fluffernutters. Parents have used the sandwich as a food of last resort for finicky eaters, sometimes adding banana slices to complement the protein of the peanut butter.
___
On the Net: Marshmallow Fluff
_____________________________________________________________
Another product that's causing a stir: Chocolate Covered Hamwinkies.
Image courtesy of E!'s "The Soup"
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TexasStooge
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Parents pinch pennies from piggy banks
SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) - One in four Australian parents regularly "borrow" money from their children's piggy banks to pay for anything from bread to luxury holidays, a survey said Wednesday.
Mums are more than twice as likely to raid their children's savings than dad, with 35 percent of mothers confessing to the crime compared with 16 percent of fathers.
But almost 9 out of 10 still believed they were setting a good example of financial management for their tiny tycoons.
Fund management firm Bankwest surveyed almost 400 parents or guardians of children aged 17 or under.
"I am guilty of the crime myself," Paul Vivian, Bankwest's head of retail deposits, told Reuters.
"If you can't find any money, you know the one place you can always rely on is the kids' piggy banks. But my wife always makes sure I put it back -- with interest," he said.
Of those who admitted to raiding piggy banks, more than half said they used the money to buy essentials such as petrol, milk and bread.
Another 20 per cent said they needed the money to pay off water and electricity bills and other utilities. But 16 per cent put their children's savings toward such extravagances as holidays or new cars.
The survey follows Reserve Bank of Australia findings that many Australians spent more than they earned in the past three years. On average, Australians saved only 2.9 percent of their annual income.
SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) - One in four Australian parents regularly "borrow" money from their children's piggy banks to pay for anything from bread to luxury holidays, a survey said Wednesday.
Mums are more than twice as likely to raid their children's savings than dad, with 35 percent of mothers confessing to the crime compared with 16 percent of fathers.
But almost 9 out of 10 still believed they were setting a good example of financial management for their tiny tycoons.
Fund management firm Bankwest surveyed almost 400 parents or guardians of children aged 17 or under.
"I am guilty of the crime myself," Paul Vivian, Bankwest's head of retail deposits, told Reuters.
"If you can't find any money, you know the one place you can always rely on is the kids' piggy banks. But my wife always makes sure I put it back -- with interest," he said.
Of those who admitted to raiding piggy banks, more than half said they used the money to buy essentials such as petrol, milk and bread.
Another 20 per cent said they needed the money to pay off water and electricity bills and other utilities. But 16 per cent put their children's savings toward such extravagances as holidays or new cars.
The survey follows Reserve Bank of Australia findings that many Australians spent more than they earned in the past three years. On average, Australians saved only 2.9 percent of their annual income.
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TexasStooge
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Uganda police ban playing pool in the daytime
KAMPALA (Reuters) - Ugandan police have banned people from playing pool during the daytime because it encourages crime, local media said Wednesday.
The game is very popular in the east African nation, where pool tables sit under canopies outside thousands of small bars.
But Kampala police chief Grace Turyagumanawe said youths often played while drinking illegal spirits and smoking drugs.
"They also use this as a meeting place to make plans of robbing people of their property at night," he told the Daily Monitor newspaper. "We are not banning the sport, but we are stopping people from playing it during the day."
Bar owners like pool tables because they earn income but use no electricity. Uganda has suffered power cuts for months.
KAMPALA (Reuters) - Ugandan police have banned people from playing pool during the daytime because it encourages crime, local media said Wednesday.
The game is very popular in the east African nation, where pool tables sit under canopies outside thousands of small bars.
But Kampala police chief Grace Turyagumanawe said youths often played while drinking illegal spirits and smoking drugs.
"They also use this as a meeting place to make plans of robbing people of their property at night," he told the Daily Monitor newspaper. "We are not banning the sport, but we are stopping people from playing it during the day."
Bar owners like pool tables because they earn income but use no electricity. Uganda has suffered power cuts for months.
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