British police defend 'underpants' advice
LONDON, England (AP) - A British police force on Thursday defended a magazine article advising women intent on getting drunk to make sure they are wearing nice underpants.
Suffolk Police in eastern England said the "tongue-in-cheek" advice in the police-backed magazine Safe was intended to curb binge-drinking by young women.
An article in the debut issue advises women "intent on getting ratted" to ensure they are "wearing nice pants" in case they pass out.
It also tells young women that too much alcohol can leave them looking like "wrinkly old prunes."
The force said the publication — designed as an eye-catching spoof gossip magazine and distributed free through shops, clubs and colleges — offered safety advice to young women.
It is produced by a coalition of police, local government and health organizations.
"That article is a very, very small part of the magazine," said a police spokeswoman, speaking on the force's customary condition of anonymity. "The whole magazine does not revolve around what people should wear when they go out."
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, a women's safety charity, acknowledged the article appeared odd, but said the police should be applauded for trying to reach young women.
"When you see quotes out of context, it seems very odd. But when you see it in context you get the spoof," spokeswoman Jo Walker said.
"Perhaps it's gone a bit too far, but you've got to give police credit for trying.
"It's definitely getting attention, and I think it will get young girls talking about it."
TWW'S CRAZY NEWS STORIES
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Dog blamed for hitting woman with truck
OGDEN, Utah (AP) - A police dog that was left in a pickup truck with the engine running apparently knocked the vehicle into gear and ran down a woman who was walking to her mailbox.
Mary F. Stone, 41, was expected to remain hospitalized with a fractured pelvis and tailbone until at least Friday, said her husband, Paul Stone.
The dog, a German shepherd named Ranger, had been left in the truck while its handler responded to a domestic disturbance call Tuesday, police Lt. Loring Draper said. The truck's engine was on so Ranger would have air conditioning.
Draper said Ranger must have hit the shift on the steering column, putting the automatic transmission into gear. As the truck slowly rolled forward, police officers yelled to Stone, but she couldn't get out of the way in time, he said.
A front and rear tire ran over her. "She had tire marks on her clothes," her husband said.
The truck then went through the Stones' yard and struck a vehicle in the driveway.
Draper said police were trying to determine if there might have been some malfunction that would have allowed the gear shift to be moved easily.
OGDEN, Utah (AP) - A police dog that was left in a pickup truck with the engine running apparently knocked the vehicle into gear and ran down a woman who was walking to her mailbox.
Mary F. Stone, 41, was expected to remain hospitalized with a fractured pelvis and tailbone until at least Friday, said her husband, Paul Stone.
The dog, a German shepherd named Ranger, had been left in the truck while its handler responded to a domestic disturbance call Tuesday, police Lt. Loring Draper said. The truck's engine was on so Ranger would have air conditioning.
Draper said Ranger must have hit the shift on the steering column, putting the automatic transmission into gear. As the truck slowly rolled forward, police officers yelled to Stone, but she couldn't get out of the way in time, he said.
A front and rear tire ran over her. "She had tire marks on her clothes," her husband said.
The truck then went through the Stones' yard and struck a vehicle in the driveway.
Draper said police were trying to determine if there might have been some malfunction that would have allowed the gear shift to be moved easily.
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Four killed when car hits deer
MERTZON, Texas (DallasNews.com/AP) — A woman, her son and two others were killed when the car they were in struck a deer, crossed the center line and collided with a pickup truck.
Tricia Etheridge, 34, and her son Aaron Hines, 15, both of Garland, were killed. Etheridge's grandmother, Obdulia Etheridge, 76, of Ozona, also died in the Saturday morning crash.
Authorities believe the fourth person killed in the wreck, 13-year-old Amber Gonzales, of Ozona, was Tricia Etheridge's niece. The teenager was also known as Amber Sanchez, the San Angelo Standard-Times reported.
The four were heading south on U.S. Highway 67 when the crash happened west of Mertzon. Their car struck pickup truck driven by Sergio Gutierrez, of San Angelo.
Gutierrez and his passenger, Rudy Palacio of San Angelo, were in stable condition at Shannon Medical Center, the Department of Public Safety said.
All involved in the crash wore seat belts, DPS officials said.
MERTZON, Texas (DallasNews.com/AP) — A woman, her son and two others were killed when the car they were in struck a deer, crossed the center line and collided with a pickup truck.
Tricia Etheridge, 34, and her son Aaron Hines, 15, both of Garland, were killed. Etheridge's grandmother, Obdulia Etheridge, 76, of Ozona, also died in the Saturday morning crash.
Authorities believe the fourth person killed in the wreck, 13-year-old Amber Gonzales, of Ozona, was Tricia Etheridge's niece. The teenager was also known as Amber Sanchez, the San Angelo Standard-Times reported.
The four were heading south on U.S. Highway 67 when the crash happened west of Mertzon. Their car struck pickup truck driven by Sergio Gutierrez, of San Angelo.
Gutierrez and his passenger, Rudy Palacio of San Angelo, were in stable condition at Shannon Medical Center, the Department of Public Safety said.
All involved in the crash wore seat belts, DPS officials said.
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Sumo suspended for slapping photographers
TOKYO (AP) - The Japan Sumo Association on Sunday ordered a Russian wrestler to sit out three bouts for assaulting two photographers after losing a fractious bout the day before.
The JSA ordered Roho, an upper division wrestler ranked three slots below the sport's topmost tiers, to sit out three bouts starting Sunday for his actions, association spokesman Muragoro Takasago said.
The incident took place after Roho's bout on Saturday with ozeki Chiyotaikai. The pair glared at one another and exchanged words after the ozeki forced the Russian grappler out of the ring with a move that sent both wrestlers tumbling into the seats
Following the match, Roho slapped a pair of newspaper photographers in the dressing room, association spokesman Takahiro Ishii said.
JSA Chairman Kitanoumi had already warned both wrestlers over their conduct on the ring Saturday evening, Ishii said. Sunday's punishment is solely for the assault, he added.
The Russian, who also injured his hand punching out a window in the locker room, will have three losses recorded against his record for the tournament as a result of the punishment, association spokesman Tsuyoshi Nomura said. His record stood at 4-3 after Saturday's bouts.
TOKYO (AP) - The Japan Sumo Association on Sunday ordered a Russian wrestler to sit out three bouts for assaulting two photographers after losing a fractious bout the day before.
The JSA ordered Roho, an upper division wrestler ranked three slots below the sport's topmost tiers, to sit out three bouts starting Sunday for his actions, association spokesman Muragoro Takasago said.
The incident took place after Roho's bout on Saturday with ozeki Chiyotaikai. The pair glared at one another and exchanged words after the ozeki forced the Russian grappler out of the ring with a move that sent both wrestlers tumbling into the seats
Following the match, Roho slapped a pair of newspaper photographers in the dressing room, association spokesman Takahiro Ishii said.
JSA Chairman Kitanoumi had already warned both wrestlers over their conduct on the ring Saturday evening, Ishii said. Sunday's punishment is solely for the assault, he added.
The Russian, who also injured his hand punching out a window in the locker room, will have three losses recorded against his record for the tournament as a result of the punishment, association spokesman Tsuyoshi Nomura said. His record stood at 4-3 after Saturday's bouts.
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Irish men nab trawler to get home after missing boat
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Two Irish men who stole a fishing trawler after missing their ferry had to be rescued off the British coast where they were going in circles because they did not know how to sail.
After hours at sea, the men called what they thought was the Irish coastguard for help.
"They thought they were just off the coast of Ireland," said Ray Steadman, press officer of the Holyhead lifeboat in north Wales, about 66 miles (106 km) east of Ireland.
In fact, the pair were just 12 miles north of where they started in Holyhead and had called the British coastguard, Steadman told Irish broadcaster RTE on Monday.
Life boats and a helicopter were sent out to rescue the men, who were detained by police before being released.
They were later rearrested after the boat owner discovered some damage to his trawler.
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Two Irish men who stole a fishing trawler after missing their ferry had to be rescued off the British coast where they were going in circles because they did not know how to sail.
After hours at sea, the men called what they thought was the Irish coastguard for help.
"They thought they were just off the coast of Ireland," said Ray Steadman, press officer of the Holyhead lifeboat in north Wales, about 66 miles (106 km) east of Ireland.
In fact, the pair were just 12 miles north of where they started in Holyhead and had called the British coastguard, Steadman told Irish broadcaster RTE on Monday.
Life boats and a helicopter were sent out to rescue the men, who were detained by police before being released.
They were later rearrested after the boat owner discovered some damage to his trawler.
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Cannabis plants removed from Berlin foster home
BERLIN (Reuters) - A Berlin foster mother was ordered to remove a marijuana crop her teenage son had been growing in the garden where six small children under her care have been playing.
The Protestant church in Berlin told Silke B. to get rid of the marijuana plants, according to a report Friday in Bild newspaper, which printed pictures of the unmistakable plants next to a small pool full of children.
"Either the plants are removed or the children will be taken away," Marianne Bartzok, a church staff member, told the newspaper. Silke's son Sven was later seen carrying the plants away in plastic crates, the daily said.
Silke B. said she did not know what Sven was growing, but added: "I had a feeling it was something bad."
BERLIN (Reuters) - A Berlin foster mother was ordered to remove a marijuana crop her teenage son had been growing in the garden where six small children under her care have been playing.
The Protestant church in Berlin told Silke B. to get rid of the marijuana plants, according to a report Friday in Bild newspaper, which printed pictures of the unmistakable plants next to a small pool full of children.
"Either the plants are removed or the children will be taken away," Marianne Bartzok, a church staff member, told the newspaper. Silke's son Sven was later seen carrying the plants away in plastic crates, the daily said.
Silke B. said she did not know what Sven was growing, but added: "I had a feeling it was something bad."
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Official New York sport: Gripe, gripe, gripe
By Daniel Trotta
NEW YORK (Reuters) - What are you complaining about? If you're a New Yorker, it's often about noise and trash and occasionally about politics or morals.
Those are some of the concerns expressed over the past 300 years by citizens writing to their mayor, as unearthed by an artist who mined the city's archives to create The New York City Museum of Complaint.
The museum is actually a tabloid newspaper reproducing 31 letters from 1751 to 1973, currently being distributed in city parks. Some letters are elegantly handwritten, others typed, and all of them complain about something.
"Some of them are on the verge of paranoia, others are on the verge of genius," said Matthew Bakkom, the artist who created the project.
"I tried to find letters that had a genuine voice of their own somehow. It's a bit like being a DJ, I suppose."
The city has preserved complaints as far back as 1700, when the American colonies were under British rule. Bakkom discovered the archive while doing historical research and decided these disaffected voices from the past needed to be heard.
"It just seemed to me something very vital and very original and very striking."
The first in the collection, from 1751, seeks compensation for a series of ills. "The report of the small pox being in this city hinders the country people from coming to market," Andrew Ramsey wrote, noting that he "lost two Negroes last winter."
A 1900 letter on corruption from the president of the Citizens' Progressive League decries avarice: "The only thing purely 'American' that I can find in New York City, after many years' search, is the abnormally developed spirit of money getting."
The 1930s are represented by five letters, including one from 1935 that seeks a change in the law so "that girls in the burlesque shows in New York would be allowed to display their charms without more interference of the police."
Bakkom has a few favorites, such as one from the London woman Mary Elizabeth Cook who, calling herself an attractive brunette of 29, wrote in 1949: "Could you possibly help me find an American husband."
"I can send photographs," she added.
It was leaked to the press and produced a spate of letters from lonely people looking for mates, Bakkom said.
By Daniel Trotta
NEW YORK (Reuters) - What are you complaining about? If you're a New Yorker, it's often about noise and trash and occasionally about politics or morals.
Those are some of the concerns expressed over the past 300 years by citizens writing to their mayor, as unearthed by an artist who mined the city's archives to create The New York City Museum of Complaint.
The museum is actually a tabloid newspaper reproducing 31 letters from 1751 to 1973, currently being distributed in city parks. Some letters are elegantly handwritten, others typed, and all of them complain about something.
"Some of them are on the verge of paranoia, others are on the verge of genius," said Matthew Bakkom, the artist who created the project.
"I tried to find letters that had a genuine voice of their own somehow. It's a bit like being a DJ, I suppose."
The city has preserved complaints as far back as 1700, when the American colonies were under British rule. Bakkom discovered the archive while doing historical research and decided these disaffected voices from the past needed to be heard.
"It just seemed to me something very vital and very original and very striking."
The first in the collection, from 1751, seeks compensation for a series of ills. "The report of the small pox being in this city hinders the country people from coming to market," Andrew Ramsey wrote, noting that he "lost two Negroes last winter."
A 1900 letter on corruption from the president of the Citizens' Progressive League decries avarice: "The only thing purely 'American' that I can find in New York City, after many years' search, is the abnormally developed spirit of money getting."
The 1930s are represented by five letters, including one from 1935 that seeks a change in the law so "that girls in the burlesque shows in New York would be allowed to display their charms without more interference of the police."
Bakkom has a few favorites, such as one from the London woman Mary Elizabeth Cook who, calling herself an attractive brunette of 29, wrote in 1949: "Could you possibly help me find an American husband."
"I can send photographs," she added.
It was leaked to the press and produced a spate of letters from lonely people looking for mates, Bakkom said.
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Police foil rare bank hold-up, kill one
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian police said on Saturday they shot dead one of four armed robbers who tried to hold up a state-owned bank in Addis Ababa -- an extremely rare crime for the Ethiopian capital.
Residents said a daylight bank robbery has not been attempted in recent memory in the heavily policed city.
"Four robbers who entered the bank posing as customers shot and wounded a security guard and threatened employees at gunpoint to hand over cash," a police report said of the Friday incident.
Officers who responded to the alarm at a branch of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia shot one suspect dead, and captured two others while the fourth escaped, police said.
Two officers were wounded in the shootout, police said.
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian police said on Saturday they shot dead one of four armed robbers who tried to hold up a state-owned bank in Addis Ababa -- an extremely rare crime for the Ethiopian capital.
Residents said a daylight bank robbery has not been attempted in recent memory in the heavily policed city.
"Four robbers who entered the bank posing as customers shot and wounded a security guard and threatened employees at gunpoint to hand over cash," a police report said of the Friday incident.
Officers who responded to the alarm at a branch of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia shot one suspect dead, and captured two others while the fourth escaped, police said.
Two officers were wounded in the shootout, police said.
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Racist ringtone sets off alarms
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A cell phone ring tone describing violence against black people is spreading from phone to phone in South Africa via wireless technology, raising concerns in the post-apartheid country.
The Cape Argus newspaper said the new ringtone featured a song about tying a black person to the back of a truck and setting dogs on him.
Lionel Louw, chief of staff for the Office of the Premier in the Western Cape, told the newspaper the ringtone should be condemned as out of step with South Africa's multiracial democracy.
"The form of behavior reflected in the ringtone is criminal and its perpetrators will feel the full might of the law," Louw was quoted as saying.
Technical experts told the Cape Argus it was difficult to trace the origins of the ringtone, which officials say is being spread from phone to phone via Bluetooth wireless technology.
"With today's phones being able to play MP3 music files and almost any media type, it's possible for anybody with a computer to make any type of ring tone or wallpaper," said Yolanda Meyer from Designi, a firm specializing in cellular applications.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A cell phone ring tone describing violence against black people is spreading from phone to phone in South Africa via wireless technology, raising concerns in the post-apartheid country.
The Cape Argus newspaper said the new ringtone featured a song about tying a black person to the back of a truck and setting dogs on him.
Lionel Louw, chief of staff for the Office of the Premier in the Western Cape, told the newspaper the ringtone should be condemned as out of step with South Africa's multiracial democracy.
"The form of behavior reflected in the ringtone is criminal and its perpetrators will feel the full might of the law," Louw was quoted as saying.
Technical experts told the Cape Argus it was difficult to trace the origins of the ringtone, which officials say is being spread from phone to phone via Bluetooth wireless technology.
"With today's phones being able to play MP3 music files and almost any media type, it's possible for anybody with a computer to make any type of ring tone or wallpaper," said Yolanda Meyer from Designi, a firm specializing in cellular applications.
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Australians upset over loud Manilow music
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - It could be magic for some, but the use of loud Barry Manilow music to drive away late-night revelers from a suburban Sydney park is getting on the nerves of nearby residents.
In a move reminiscent of U.S. efforts to drive former Panama strongman Manuel Noriega from the Vatican Embassy where he took refuge in 1989, the local council in Rockdale, in Sydney's southern suburbs, started a six-month trial of high-volume hits by Manilow and Doris Day to chase away car enthusiasts who were gathering on weekend nights at Cook Park Reserve.
"Barry's our secret weapon," Rockdale Deputy Mayor Bill Saravinovski told The Daily Telegraph newspaper, four weeks after the start of the effort. "It seems to be working."
But some people living near the park are less than enthralled. They say the barrage of "Copacabana," "Could It Be Magic" and "Que Sera Sera," blasting from 9 p.m. to midnight every Friday, Saturday and Sunday is driving them crazy.
"I don't know how I will cope," said Moya Dunn, describing how the songs have invaded her house. "I just can't sleep when it's on, and to think there's going to be another six months of this."
Officials have given in a little, agreeing to turn down the volume a bit after residents complained.
"The initial reaction was that they found it irritating," Saravinovski said. "I'm not disputing what the residents are saying. I can't swallow some of the tracks like `Mandy.'
"We have tried to reduce the sound and we are reviewing the songs. I don't mind Barry Manilow, but I'm more of an ABBA and Celine Dion fan."
In 1989, U.S. soldiers blasted hard rock music and news bulletins about Panama at the Vatican Embassy in Panama City in attempt to drive Gen. Noriega from refuge there. The Vatican complained, and U.S. troops stopped the noise. Noriega later surrendered.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060717/ap_ ... ow_barrage
_____________________________________________________________
Well, it was either that or Connie Chung's Farewell performance.
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - It could be magic for some, but the use of loud Barry Manilow music to drive away late-night revelers from a suburban Sydney park is getting on the nerves of nearby residents.
In a move reminiscent of U.S. efforts to drive former Panama strongman Manuel Noriega from the Vatican Embassy where he took refuge in 1989, the local council in Rockdale, in Sydney's southern suburbs, started a six-month trial of high-volume hits by Manilow and Doris Day to chase away car enthusiasts who were gathering on weekend nights at Cook Park Reserve.
"Barry's our secret weapon," Rockdale Deputy Mayor Bill Saravinovski told The Daily Telegraph newspaper, four weeks after the start of the effort. "It seems to be working."
But some people living near the park are less than enthralled. They say the barrage of "Copacabana," "Could It Be Magic" and "Que Sera Sera," blasting from 9 p.m. to midnight every Friday, Saturday and Sunday is driving them crazy.
"I don't know how I will cope," said Moya Dunn, describing how the songs have invaded her house. "I just can't sleep when it's on, and to think there's going to be another six months of this."
Officials have given in a little, agreeing to turn down the volume a bit after residents complained.
"The initial reaction was that they found it irritating," Saravinovski said. "I'm not disputing what the residents are saying. I can't swallow some of the tracks like `Mandy.'
"We have tried to reduce the sound and we are reviewing the songs. I don't mind Barry Manilow, but I'm more of an ABBA and Celine Dion fan."
In 1989, U.S. soldiers blasted hard rock music and news bulletins about Panama at the Vatican Embassy in Panama City in attempt to drive Gen. Noriega from refuge there. The Vatican complained, and U.S. troops stopped the noise. Noriega later surrendered.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060717/ap_ ... ow_barrage
_____________________________________________________________
Well, it was either that or Connie Chung's Farewell performance.
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Banned Md. skateboarders find a refuge
WILLIAMSPORT, Md. (AP) - For skateboarders and BMX bikers who've ever wanted to say a prayer before trying a new stunt, this could be the perfect arrangement: A half-pipe at a church parking lot in Williamsport.
After the town banned skateboarding in public places, New Hope Alliance Church pastor Todd Stroud saw an opportunity for what he calls Skatechurch.
Stroud plans to combine weekly skating sessions on Sunday nights with a 15-minute dialogue about faith.
___
Information from: The (Hagerstown, Md.) Herald-Mail
WILLIAMSPORT, Md. (AP) - For skateboarders and BMX bikers who've ever wanted to say a prayer before trying a new stunt, this could be the perfect arrangement: A half-pipe at a church parking lot in Williamsport.
After the town banned skateboarding in public places, New Hope Alliance Church pastor Todd Stroud saw an opportunity for what he calls Skatechurch.
Stroud plans to combine weekly skating sessions on Sunday nights with a 15-minute dialogue about faith.
___
Information from: The (Hagerstown, Md.) Herald-Mail
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Australian fined for smuggling rare eggs
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - A man caught with six eggs from endangered species in his underwear as he was preparing to fly to Bangkok was fined $20,000 Monday by a judge who rejected his claim that he only wanted to surprise his girlfriend.
Wayne Frederick Floyd pleaded guilty in February to exporting regulated native specimens without a permit or exemption, an offense that carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
Although Judge Martin Sides called it a commercial venture, he said he didn't mandate jail time because the eggs had come from a collection of birds at Floyd's home and hadn't been taken from the wild.
Floyd was about to board a flight from Sydney to Bangkok, Thailand, last November when a customs officer frisked him and noticed a suspicious bulge around his groin, the New South Wales District Court was told. A strip search revealed six eggs hidden inside a stocking in his underwear.
The judge rejected Floyd's claim that he was trying to take the eggs overseas "to surprise his girlfriend."
Two of the eggs never hatched. The others contained two gang gang cockatoos and two galahs, both listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which includes species facing extinction unless trade in them is controlled. A galah or cockatoo egg can fetch tens of thousands of dollars when sold overseas.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060717/ap_ ... N5bmNhdA--
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - A man caught with six eggs from endangered species in his underwear as he was preparing to fly to Bangkok was fined $20,000 Monday by a judge who rejected his claim that he only wanted to surprise his girlfriend.
Wayne Frederick Floyd pleaded guilty in February to exporting regulated native specimens without a permit or exemption, an offense that carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
Although Judge Martin Sides called it a commercial venture, he said he didn't mandate jail time because the eggs had come from a collection of birds at Floyd's home and hadn't been taken from the wild.
Floyd was about to board a flight from Sydney to Bangkok, Thailand, last November when a customs officer frisked him and noticed a suspicious bulge around his groin, the New South Wales District Court was told. A strip search revealed six eggs hidden inside a stocking in his underwear.
The judge rejected Floyd's claim that he was trying to take the eggs overseas "to surprise his girlfriend."
Two of the eggs never hatched. The others contained two gang gang cockatoos and two galahs, both listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which includes species facing extinction unless trade in them is controlled. A galah or cockatoo egg can fetch tens of thousands of dollars when sold overseas.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060717/ap_ ... N5bmNhdA--
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SPCA removes 200 dogs from Wise County home
By CHRIS HAWES / WFAA ABC 8
WISE COUNTY, Texas — An animal control officer is under investigation for hurting the dogs she's supposed to protect.
SPCA of Texas investigators went to the home of Sherry Jo Behrend near Decatur Monday morning to remove more than 200 dogs they say are living in filthy conditions.
"There are dead animals inside the house," said SPCA spokesman James Bias. "There are animals throughout the property—what appears to be just way too many animals."
The SPCA said this was one of the largest rescue operations they have ever undertaken.
For some, the most surprising fact is not the number of dogs, but the occupation of their owner.
Behrend told News 8 the dogs were healthy, in her opinion. Why did she have so many? "Well, I took in from people over the years, and when you take good care of them they live a long life," she said.
Behrend, who faces charges of animal cruelty, said she feels the problems arose when a neighbor complained about the barking.
The dogs found alive were taken to the SPCA's shelter in McKinney, where they will be cared for until a custody hearing.
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/w ... 88285.html
By CHRIS HAWES / WFAA ABC 8
WISE COUNTY, Texas — An animal control officer is under investigation for hurting the dogs she's supposed to protect.
SPCA of Texas investigators went to the home of Sherry Jo Behrend near Decatur Monday morning to remove more than 200 dogs they say are living in filthy conditions.
"There are dead animals inside the house," said SPCA spokesman James Bias. "There are animals throughout the property—what appears to be just way too many animals."
The SPCA said this was one of the largest rescue operations they have ever undertaken.
For some, the most surprising fact is not the number of dogs, but the occupation of their owner.
Behrend told News 8 the dogs were healthy, in her opinion. Why did she have so many? "Well, I took in from people over the years, and when you take good care of them they live a long life," she said.
Behrend, who faces charges of animal cruelty, said she feels the problems arose when a neighbor complained about the barking.
The dogs found alive were taken to the SPCA's shelter in McKinney, where they will be cared for until a custody hearing.
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/w ... 88285.html
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Dog helps save Philly toddler from roof
PHILADELPHIA, Penn. (AP) - A toddler who climbed out a second-story window onto the porch roof of his family's row house was followed by his dog, whose barks alerted neighbors who rescued the child.
Phillip Redmond Jr., who will be 2 years old next month, apparently climbed out of a broken bedroom window Sunday and scampered across the narrow porch rooftops of at least eight homes, neighbors said.
The row homes have connected porch roofs; neighbors heard barking and saw the boy running from roof to roof followed by the family's German shepherd, Alfie.
"He was following the baby across," neighbor Tina Mitchell told WPVI-TV. "He was protecting the baby, making sure the baby was all right."
A neighbor, Shavyonn Robinson, was able to grab the toddler from the porch roof of a home a few doors down. The footprints of Phillip and Alfie could be seen in the blacktop coating on the porch roofs.
"First I had my hand sticking out (of the window) trying to grab him," she said. "That's when he tried to run past, because he thought I was playing with him, and he almost fell so I had to go out and get him."
Police questioned the toddler's parents, Phillip Redmond and Katie Berkelback, but no charges have been filed. Child welfare officials placed the boy in the care of relatives while the incident is investigated, said the boy's father, adding that he was embarrassed but grateful that his son was fine.
"It was my fault," he said. "I didn't think he could get out there."
___
Information from: WPVI-TV
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060717/ap_ ... oftop_baby
PHILADELPHIA, Penn. (AP) - A toddler who climbed out a second-story window onto the porch roof of his family's row house was followed by his dog, whose barks alerted neighbors who rescued the child.
Phillip Redmond Jr., who will be 2 years old next month, apparently climbed out of a broken bedroom window Sunday and scampered across the narrow porch rooftops of at least eight homes, neighbors said.
The row homes have connected porch roofs; neighbors heard barking and saw the boy running from roof to roof followed by the family's German shepherd, Alfie.
"He was following the baby across," neighbor Tina Mitchell told WPVI-TV. "He was protecting the baby, making sure the baby was all right."
A neighbor, Shavyonn Robinson, was able to grab the toddler from the porch roof of a home a few doors down. The footprints of Phillip and Alfie could be seen in the blacktop coating on the porch roofs.
"First I had my hand sticking out (of the window) trying to grab him," she said. "That's when he tried to run past, because he thought I was playing with him, and he almost fell so I had to go out and get him."
Police questioned the toddler's parents, Phillip Redmond and Katie Berkelback, but no charges have been filed. Child welfare officials placed the boy in the care of relatives while the incident is investigated, said the boy's father, adding that he was embarrassed but grateful that his son was fine.
"It was my fault," he said. "I didn't think he could get out there."
___
Information from: WPVI-TV
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060717/ap_ ... oftop_baby
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TexasStooge
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Web bravado lands Croat with speeding fine
ZAGREB (Reuters) - A young Croat who posted a photograph of himself speeding on a motorbike on the Web was tracked down and fined by the police, the Jutarnji List daily reported on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old, identified only as D.M., filmed himself doing 100 mph on a backroad in northern Croatia and then put it on the Web site of his local municipality.
Police found him three days later.
"He was trying to be a hot shot. Guys like this may not know that the police scan the Internet. This is a warning to them not to play games on the road and threaten their own and others people's lives," the daily quoted police as saying.
In addition to the speeding ticket, the police also discovered the motorcycle had been illegally imported from neighbouring Slovenia and was not registered -- likely leading to another hefty fine, the daily said.
ZAGREB (Reuters) - A young Croat who posted a photograph of himself speeding on a motorbike on the Web was tracked down and fined by the police, the Jutarnji List daily reported on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old, identified only as D.M., filmed himself doing 100 mph on a backroad in northern Croatia and then put it on the Web site of his local municipality.
Police found him three days later.
"He was trying to be a hot shot. Guys like this may not know that the police scan the Internet. This is a warning to them not to play games on the road and threaten their own and others people's lives," the daily quoted police as saying.
In addition to the speeding ticket, the police also discovered the motorcycle had been illegally imported from neighbouring Slovenia and was not registered -- likely leading to another hefty fine, the daily said.
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TexasStooge
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China's border police turn marriage counsellors
BEIJING (Reuters) - Fighting people smugglers and drug runners is old hat for China's border police who now have a new duty -- defusing marital squabbles and other disputes.
Police officials said on Tuesday that the policy -- called "love the people, consolidate the borders" -- made perfect sense, as a happy populace that trusts the authorities helps make China's frontiers safer.
"It provides a protective screen for the social and economic development of the country in this important strategic period," Chen Weiming, director of the Ministry of Public Security's frontier bureau, told a news conference.
The police along China's 22,000-km (13,700-mile) land border and in coastal areas were involved in everything from advising Inner Mongolian herders on when to get the best prices for wool to sorting out family strife, Chen said.
That even extended to helping stop a quarrelling couple from seeking divorce, he said.
But Chen, who spent much of the hour-long event talking up his force's social work record, was tight-lipped about more sensitive topics, such as the flow of asylum seekers from North Korea.
"The situation along the North Korea border is good, though there are foreigners and illegal immigrants," he said. "Our staff and soldiers are working on it and it will be dealt with properly."
BEIJING (Reuters) - Fighting people smugglers and drug runners is old hat for China's border police who now have a new duty -- defusing marital squabbles and other disputes.
Police officials said on Tuesday that the policy -- called "love the people, consolidate the borders" -- made perfect sense, as a happy populace that trusts the authorities helps make China's frontiers safer.
"It provides a protective screen for the social and economic development of the country in this important strategic period," Chen Weiming, director of the Ministry of Public Security's frontier bureau, told a news conference.
The police along China's 22,000-km (13,700-mile) land border and in coastal areas were involved in everything from advising Inner Mongolian herders on when to get the best prices for wool to sorting out family strife, Chen said.
That even extended to helping stop a quarrelling couple from seeking divorce, he said.
But Chen, who spent much of the hour-long event talking up his force's social work record, was tight-lipped about more sensitive topics, such as the flow of asylum seekers from North Korea.
"The situation along the North Korea border is good, though there are foreigners and illegal immigrants," he said. "Our staff and soldiers are working on it and it will be dealt with properly."
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TexasStooge
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Doctor, your sponge is beeping
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Technology that helps airlines keep track of baggage and sounds an alarm when a shoplifter tries to leave the store may be able to stop surgeons from losing a sponge inside a patient, a study said on Monday.
Doctors at Stanford University School of Medicine who tested sponges embedded with radio frequency identification tags said the system accurately alerted surgeons when they deliberately left a sponge inside a temporarily closed surgical site and waved a detector wand over it.
But they said the size of the chips used -- 20 millimetres or about 0.8 of an inch -- was too large and would need to be reduced to be practical on sponges and surgical instruments.
Alex Macario, a physician and professor of anaesthesia who led the study, said the future probably will see a combination of tags and other techniques such as counting instruments and sponges before and after an operation.
"We need a system that is really fail-safe; where, regardless, of how people use this technology, the patient doesn't leave the operating room with a retained foreign body," he said.
The Stanford study, published in this week's Archives of Surgery, involved eight patients. It was funded by the National Institutes of Health and by a grant from the Small Business Innovation Research Program, using sponges developed by ClearCount Medical Solutions Inc. in Pittsburgh.
Macario has no financial interests in that company but two of the study's co-authors own several patents related to tagged sponges and work for the Pittsburgh company.
The tags use a circuit that emits an identifying a signal when prompted by a radio signal. Such tags are widespread commercially for uses ranging from luggage tracking and preventing currency from being counterfeited to shoplift loss protection and automated highway toll collection.
One earlier study found that medical personnel left foreign objects, most often sponges, inside a patient's body in one out of every 10,000 surgeries causing complications and even death.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Technology that helps airlines keep track of baggage and sounds an alarm when a shoplifter tries to leave the store may be able to stop surgeons from losing a sponge inside a patient, a study said on Monday.
Doctors at Stanford University School of Medicine who tested sponges embedded with radio frequency identification tags said the system accurately alerted surgeons when they deliberately left a sponge inside a temporarily closed surgical site and waved a detector wand over it.
But they said the size of the chips used -- 20 millimetres or about 0.8 of an inch -- was too large and would need to be reduced to be practical on sponges and surgical instruments.
Alex Macario, a physician and professor of anaesthesia who led the study, said the future probably will see a combination of tags and other techniques such as counting instruments and sponges before and after an operation.
"We need a system that is really fail-safe; where, regardless, of how people use this technology, the patient doesn't leave the operating room with a retained foreign body," he said.
The Stanford study, published in this week's Archives of Surgery, involved eight patients. It was funded by the National Institutes of Health and by a grant from the Small Business Innovation Research Program, using sponges developed by ClearCount Medical Solutions Inc. in Pittsburgh.
Macario has no financial interests in that company but two of the study's co-authors own several patents related to tagged sponges and work for the Pittsburgh company.
The tags use a circuit that emits an identifying a signal when prompted by a radio signal. Such tags are widespread commercially for uses ranging from luggage tracking and preventing currency from being counterfeited to shoplift loss protection and automated highway toll collection.
One earlier study found that medical personnel left foreign objects, most often sponges, inside a patient's body in one out of every 10,000 surgeries causing complications and even death.
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TexasStooge
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Danish Viking boat sails into Oslo, no pillaging
OSLO (Reuters) - A Viking warship its constructors call the largest and most realistic built in modern times sailed into the Norwegian capital Oslo on Monday ending its first ocean voyage, with crew likening to a snake slithering across the sea.
The Danish built 30-meter-long "Sea Stallion from Glendalough" is based on an 11th century ship, built near the settlement of Glendalough in Ireland, which had been sailed by Vikings to Denmark.
It took four years and 10 million Danish crowns (900,000 pounds) to build the new "Sea Stallion" using original techniques, tools and materials.
"We just didn't know how she would sail, but it was fantastic," the 40-year-old captain, Carsten Hvid, said, his hair and beard bleached blonde by the sun.
"If you stood at the back as she sailed and looked at the front you could see her moving and bending like a snake."
Norwegian and Danish Vikings used longships to slice through seas raids around the British Isles, but on Monday the 61 crew members gently rowed their "Sea Stallion" past luxury yachts, motor boats and car ferries into Oslo for tourists to snap pictures and children to clamber over.
The crew, including about 10 women, had tackled 3-metre (10-foot) high waves and spent two nights on the open boat during the 500-km (313-mile), week long trip from Denmark.
The voyage is a practise run before sailing to Ireland next year in the boat powered by up to 60 ores and just one square sail, unrolled only when the wind blows from behind the vessel.
($1=5.949 Danish Crown)
OSLO (Reuters) - A Viking warship its constructors call the largest and most realistic built in modern times sailed into the Norwegian capital Oslo on Monday ending its first ocean voyage, with crew likening to a snake slithering across the sea.
The Danish built 30-meter-long "Sea Stallion from Glendalough" is based on an 11th century ship, built near the settlement of Glendalough in Ireland, which had been sailed by Vikings to Denmark.
It took four years and 10 million Danish crowns (900,000 pounds) to build the new "Sea Stallion" using original techniques, tools and materials.
"We just didn't know how she would sail, but it was fantastic," the 40-year-old captain, Carsten Hvid, said, his hair and beard bleached blonde by the sun.
"If you stood at the back as she sailed and looked at the front you could see her moving and bending like a snake."
Norwegian and Danish Vikings used longships to slice through seas raids around the British Isles, but on Monday the 61 crew members gently rowed their "Sea Stallion" past luxury yachts, motor boats and car ferries into Oslo for tourists to snap pictures and children to clamber over.
The crew, including about 10 women, had tackled 3-metre (10-foot) high waves and spent two nights on the open boat during the 500-km (313-mile), week long trip from Denmark.
The voyage is a practise run before sailing to Ireland next year in the boat powered by up to 60 ores and just one square sail, unrolled only when the wind blows from behind the vessel.
($1=5.949 Danish Crown)
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TexasStooge
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