Fish This Big

Thousands Circumcised in Morocco

2005-04-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

From: FES

Morocco - The infant son of King Mohammed VI was circumcised Thursday, and thousands of Moroccans also went through the procedure in a massive show of solidarity for the prince, a news agency reported.

The circumcision of Moulay Hassan, the king's only son, marked the start of three days of nationwide celebrations across the north African kingdom to honor the event. The boy turns 2 next month.

Some 5,000 boys were circumcised in Casablanca, Morocco's largest city, and thousands more in other cities and towns, the official news agency MAP reported.

The ritual of circumcision, known as "t'hara" or purification in Morocco, signals the entry of young boys into the Muslim community. The practice — once mainly carried out by barbers — today takes place primarily under a doctor's supervision.

Cat Survives 10-Mile Trip on Top of Car

2005-03-04T11:05:00.000-08:00

From: Associated Press

INKOM, Idaho (AP) - Torri Hutchinson's cat might just have one less life to live. Hutchison was driving along Interstate 15 one day recently when a motorist kept trying to get her attention and pointing to the roof of her car.

She said she was wary of the man, but wondered if perhaps her ski rack might have come loose.

She pulled over to the side, but kept her doors locked and the motor running.

The man pulled up behind her. Hutchinson rolled down her window to hear the man frantically shouting, "Your cat! Your cat!"

He reached for the roof of her car and handed the shocked Hutchinson her orange tabby.

She had driven about 10 miles with the cat on top of the car, and didn't even notice the feline when she stopped for gas.

Hutchinson said Cuddle Bug, or C.B. for short, had climbed into the back of her car as she was getting ready to leave. She put him out, but he must have jumped on the roof while she wasn't looking, she said.

Police Arrest 8-Year-Old After Alleged Outburst in Williamsburg Elementary School

2005-03-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

From: Associated Press

James City County Police arrested an eight-year-old boy who allegedly had a violent outburst in school.

Authorities say he head-butted his teacher and kicked an assistant principal when he was told he couldn't go outside to play with other students.

The four-foot pupil was led away from Williamsburg's Rawls Byrd Elementary School in handcuffs Tuesday and charged with disorderly conduct and assault and battery.

Major Stan Stout says the student began tossing chairs and turning over desks after a teacher - and later the assistant principal - tried to stop him from joining his classmates.

The child was later released to his parents.

Court: Man Can Sue Over Surprise Pregnancy

2005-02-24T19:49:00.000-08:00

From: Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) - An appeals court said a man can press a claim for emotional distress after learning a former lover had used his sperm to have a baby. But he can't claim theft, the ruling said, because the sperm were hers to keep.

The ruling Wednesday by the Illinois Appellate Court sends Dr. Richard O. Phillips' distress case back to trial court.

Phillips accuses Dr. Sharon Irons of a "calculated, profound personal betrayal" after their affair six years ago, saying she secretly kept semen after they had oral sex, then used it to get pregnant.

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Nudists dine in New York style

2005-02-18T17:59:00.000-08:00

From: Reuters
By Claudia Parsons

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The diners arrived at a nice Manhattan restaurant on a cold February night and stripped off coats, hats, gloves and scarves. They didn't stop there.

Skirts, shirts, pants, underwear and stockings all ended up stashed in plastic bags by the bar as the patrons got naked for the monthly "Clothing Optional Dinner."

"It's exciting to be in a restaurant nude," said George Keyes, 65, a retired junior high school English teacher.

Nude yes, but not unadorned.

Keyes, a lifelong nudist, wore a necklace, earrings and a black leather "genital bracelet" with red studs. And white sneakers.

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Stanley Cup iced by Sox?

2005-02-17T09:29:00.000-08:00

From: The Boston Globe

Blame it on the Red Sox.

For only the second time in 112 years, the Stanley Cup -- the oldest trophy competed for by North American sports teams -- will not be awarded. And both times, the Red Sox were the defending World Series champions.

Donated by Lord Stanley of Preston, the Cup was first awarded to the amateur hockey champions of Canada in 1893, then to the winner of the National Hockey Association starting in 1910, and finally to the NHL champions beginning in 1927.

The only other time it was not awarded was 86 years ago -- a year familiar to Sox fans -- when the flu epidemic of 1919 killed 20 million people worldwide and forced the cancellation of hockey's championship series after five games.

Rape Victim Identifies Suspect By His Bad Breath

2005-02-16T15:52:00.000-08:00

From: AP

QUINCY, Mass. -- A restaurant manager was charged with raping an employee at knifepoint after the woman recognized her masked attacker from his bad breath, authorities said.

Tuen "Dickie" Lee, 36, pleaded innocent Monday.

Police said the woman was tied up and raped by a man who broke into her home earlier this month. DNA evidence confirmed the victim's suspicions that the attacker was her boss, authorities said.

Olajuwon says he didn't know of terrorism ties

2005-02-10T22:19:00.000-08:00

From: Associated Press/ESPN

WASHINGTON -- A mosque established and funded by basketball star Hakeem Olajuwon gave more than $80,000 to charities the government later determined to be fronts for the terror groups al-Qaida and Hamas, according to financial records obtained by The Associated Press.

Olajuwon told the AP he had not known of any links to terrorism when the donations were made, prior to the government's crackdown on the groups, and would not have given the money if he had known.

"There is no way you can go back in time," Olajuwon said in a telephone interview from Jordan, where he is studying Arabic. "After the fact, now they have the list of organizations that are banned by the government."

A Treasury Department spokeswoman, Molly Millerwise, declined to discuss Olajuwon's contributions but said, "In many cases donors are being unwittingly misled by the charities."

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Fluff no longer flies at American

2005-02-09T18:14:00.000-08:00

No. 1 airline pulls pillows off planes in troubled industry's latest cost-cutting effort.
From: CNN/Money

NEW YORK - Pillows are the latest victim of the financial woes at the world's largest airline.

American Airlines confirms that as of Feb. 15, it is pulling the pillows off most of its domestic routes other than the trans-continental flights and those to Hawaii. Flights to the Caribbean and Latin America will also go without the pillows. The planes will still have blankets available for customers.

American first pulled the pillows on its MD-80 fleet in November, and saved $300,000 from that move. The expansion of the pillow cost-cutting should save another $375,000, according to American spokesman Tim Wagner. Even the first-class cabin on the shorter flights will go without pillows, Wagner said.

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Man Sells 'Jesus' Brick

2005-02-07T23:05:00.000-08:00

From: local6.com

A North Carolina man is selling a brick that appears to feature the face of Jesus, according to Local 6 News report.

Ditto Dalcher said he was sitting in his home and noticed the face above his fireplace.

"It was actually about two years ago, I'm just sitting in here and I saw it," Dalcher said. "Actually I use this room -- just saw it up there on the fireplace and it just sort of fooled me when I first saw it. It was pretty shocking."

Dalcher noticed how much money people were making off of the Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich and Jesus in a skillet and decided to share what he found, according to the report.

The bids on eBay were at $500 early Monday.

The auction ends on Friday

University to offer e-mail spam course

2005-02-05T21:54:00.000-08:00

From: CBC News

CALGARY - The University of Calgary is about to introduce another controversial computer science course. Students will be taught how write programs that create e-mail spam as well as spy software.

It will be similar to an existing course where students learn how to create computer viruses. The aim is to develop new ways to fight these online nuisances.

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Woman Accused of Giving Lethal Sherry Enema

2005-02-03T16:02:00.000-08:00

From: Reuters

A Texas woman has been indicted for criminally negligent homicide for causing her husband's death by giving him a sherry enema, a police detective said on Wednesday.

Tammy Jean Warner, 42, gave Michael Warner two large bottles of sherry on May 21, which raised his blood alcohol level to 0.47 percent, or nearly six times the level considered legally drunk in Texas, police detective Robert Turner in Lake Jackson, Texas, told the Houston Chronicle.

"We're not talking about little bottles here," Turner said. "These were at least 1.5-liter bottles."

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Pistons' Hamilton heads up tire ad

2005-02-02T13:02:00.000-08:00

Goodyear pays Detroit star to wear his hairstyle like its automobile tread.
From: Bloomberg News

Some people model their hairstyles after celebrities. Detroit Pistons guard Richard Hamilton takes his cue from tires.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., North America's largest tire maker, paid Hamilton to wear his hair in the style of the tread pattern of the company's Assurance TripleTred product.

Hamilton, who helped the Pistons win last season's National Basketball Association championship, wore the hairstyle two days ago against the New York Knicks in Detroit and plans to keep it for about a week, company spokesman Ed Markey said Monday.

Neither Markey nor Josh Nochimson, Hamilton's business manager, would say how much Hamilton was paid. The player also received free tires, Markey said.

Nochimson said that he hopes the publicity stunt leads to an endorsement with the Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear. "I'd love to do something national," he said.

Hamilton even displayed the hairstyle to U.S. President George W. Bush, who hosted the Pistons at the White House on Monday in honor of their championship.

Goodyear said it picked the 26-year-old Hamilton for a variety of reasons, including his team's success and location in Detroit, which is the home to General Motors Corp. and other U.S. automakers.

'Kidnapped Soldier' is a Toy

2005-02-02T09:38:00.000-08:00

From: AP

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A Web site posted a photograph of what it claimed was a kidnapped U.S. soldier, but doubts were quickly raised about its authenticity and the U.S. military said no soldiers were missing.

An American toy manufacturer said the figure in the photo resembled one of its military action figures, originally produced for sale at U.S. bases in Kuwait.

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Not Available

2005-01-31T09:15:00.000-08:00

From: New York Post, Page Six

January 31, 2005 -- EVEN in death, Rodney Dangerfield gets no respect. The late comedy legend's longtime publicist, Kevin Sasaki, got a call from a booker at CNN last week asking him if "Rodney would be available to share his comments on the passing and legacy of Johnny Carson." Sasaki replied that unless CNN had a new way of linking up to the afterlife via satellite, that would be impossible. Dangerfield, of course, passed away last October. Ironically, his new DVD set, "Rodney Dangerfield — The Ultimate No Respect Collection," was posthumously released last month, and includes clips culled from his more than 70 appearances on "The Tonight Show."

Marine survives 9 bombs

2005-01-29T21:34:00.000-08:00

He's coming a cult figure in his unit
From CNN

ASKAN, Iraq (AP) -- The first time Lance Cpl. Tony Stevens was bombed in Iraq, a car packed with 155 mm shells exploded next to his Humvee just as a device containing five more shells detonated beneath it.

By bomb No. 9, the former baseball minor league shortstop had become a good luck-bad luck icon and the awe of his 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment patrolling the so-called "triangle of death" south of Baghdad.

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Massive Manure Fire Burns Into Third Month

2005-01-28T16:22:00.000-08:00

From: AP

By KEVIN O'HANLON
Associated Press Writer

MILFORD, Neb. (AP) -- Urban dwellers who enjoy dining on filet mignon at five-star restaurants would probably just as soon not know about David Dickinson's dilemma. Bad for the appetite, you know. But Dickinson, who makes his living in the cattle business, has an environmental problem on his hands that is vexing state officials: a 2,000-ton pile of burning cow manure.

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Senator Wants Boxing Gloves on Chickens

2005-01-27T11:30:00.000-08:00

From: My Way News

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A state senator has a plan for saving Oklahoma's gamefowl industry now that cockfighters are legally prohibited from pitting birds fitted with razor-like spurs.

State Sen. Frank Shurden, a longtime defender of cockfighting, is suggesting that roosters be given little boxing gloves so they can fight without bloodshed. The proposal is in a bill the Democrat has introduced for the legislative session that begins Feb. 7.

"Who's going to object to chickens fighting like humans do? Everybody wins," Sen. Frank Shurden said.

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India sets sights on the moon

2005-01-25T13:04:00.000-08:00

From: CBC News

CHENNAI, INDIA - India plans to launch an unmanned mission to the moon in 2007 as scheduled and is looking ahead to more launches.

"ISRO will undertake more lunar missions if the first one turns out to be successful. In fact, we propose to launch two lunar missions before 2015," P. Madhavan Nair, chair of the Indian Space Research Organisation, said.

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Hadfield dreams of Canadian-led Mars mission

2005-01-15T13:14:00.000-08:00

From: CTV.ca News Staff

Chris Hadfield, a former space shuttle astronaut who was the first Canadian to perform a spacewalk, says Canada should take the leap and begin planning its own mission to Mars.

"What's important is that we participate in this world exploration of the rest of the universe and Canada needs to choose where in that part we're going to be," he told Canada AM.

Hadfield says he agrees with his boss, Canadian Space Agency head Marc Garneau, that the country should aim for a Canadian-led Mars mission.

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BBC staff shown the door

2004-12-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

From: The ABC

A British tabloid newspaper has reported staff at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) have been given instructions on how to walk through a door.

British paper The Sun, reported that workers at the global broadcaster's offices in Birmingham in central England had been issued with a memo advising them on how to get through a revolving door.

The newspaper reports an email sent to 800 staff, complete with matchstick man diagrams for ease of understanding, comes after one worker trapped her foot in the new doors at the BBC's offices in Britain's second city, cracking a toenail.

"Follow these simple steps each time you use the doors," says the memo entitled Revolving Security Door User Instructions.

"To enter the secure space move directly into the revolving door compartment. The door will start automatically. One person per compartment. Keep hands, feet and bags away from the edges of the door."

"We are keeping in line with the Health and Safety at Work Act," a BBC spokesman told The Sun.

Employees at BBC Radio Sheffield in the north of England had previously been instructed on how to boil a kettle.

The newspaper quoted the edict as saying: "Remove lid from kettle and fill kettle with water."

‘Virgin Mary grilled cheese’ sells for $28,000

2004-11-23T01:33:00.000-08:00

Online casino wins eBay auction for 10-year-old 'holy' snack

From: MSNBC

MIAMI - A woman who said her 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich bore the image of the Virgin Mary will be getting a lot more bread after the item sold for $28,000 on eBay.

GoldenPalace.com, an online casino, confirmed that it placed the winning bid, and company executives said they were willing to spend “as much as it took” to own the 10-year-old half-sandwich with a bite out of it.

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