Supreme Court Strikes Down DC Handgun Ban

In a historic ruling the Supreme Court voted that the Second Amendment enshrines the constitutional right of an individual to own and keep a loaded handgun at home for purposes of self-defense. The 5-4 decision to overturn the 32-year old ban on handguns in the nation’s capital is the court’s most significant ruling on the Second Amendment since 1939.

What Was The Point

BERLIN (AP) - A German man doused his BMW with gasoline and torched it on Friday in protest at skyrocketing fuel costs, police said. The unemployed 30-year-old man drove the black 1995 BMW 3-series sedan onto the lawn outside Frankfurt's convention center grounds at about 7:30 a.m., police spokesman Karlheinz Wagner said. He then jumped out, emptied a canister of gas over the vehicle, and set fire to it, Wagner said. By the time the fire department got to the scene, the car was entirely burned out. The Bavarian man, whose name was being withheld because he has not been charged with a crime, told police that gas prices were so high he could no longer afford to drive the vehicle. As in many countries, gasoline prices have risen steadily in Germany; a liter of regular gasoline now costs about euro1.55, or $9.40 per gallon. Police were investigating whether the man could be charged with violating German environmental laws with the stunt, Wagner said. Penalties range from fines to five years in prison.

NBC offers wide online access for Beijing Olympics

NEW YORK - NBC is making more than 2,200 hours of live competition from Beijing available online, giving Olympic junkies more action than they could ever devour in a day.

After barely tipping its toe in the digital world during past Olympics, the network will dive into the deep end: live blogging, 3,000 hours of highlights on demand, daily recaps and analysis and even fantasy league gaming. That's in addition to the 1,400 hours of coverage planned on six television networks, more than the combined total of every previous Summer Olympics.
NBC's digital plans, however, have angered media outlets that worry the company is being heavy-handed in enforcing its rights to exclusive Olympic access.

The network launched NBCOlympics.com in 2000, but then it offered only still pictures and schedule information to drive viewers to its television coverage. A limited package of highlights from Athens was available in 2004, but those visiting the NBC site were required to enter a credit card number, even though they weren't charged, and that drove away traffic.
NBC quietly experimented by beaming live over the Internet the hockey gold-medal game from the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. The change in scope to what it is offering this year is staggering.

"We're excited about what we are putting into the fingertips of the Olympics fan," said Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics. "We think it will generate a tremendous amount of engagement. We think it will generate more television viewership."

That's the danger for a TV network that offers so much online content: that people will turn off the TV in favor of the computer. Zenkel said there was worry in the past as NBC increased the level of events available on television that saturation would drive down viewership, but it turned out not to be the case.

The Associated Press has an agreement with NBC to distribute video links to the network's content online. The computer coverage will also play a clear secondary role to TV. No events that are scheduled to be televised will be available online until after they are seen on TV, said Perkins Miller, senior vice president for digital media at NBC Sports. The Web site will offer a full TV viewers' guide, track medal standings and give real-time results. It will have bios of more than 10,000 athletes, NBC said.

"It's not that we aren't nervous," Zenkel said. "It's not that we haven't taken an enormous amount on. But we're up to it and we're going to perform as we always have in the past."
There's been some brewing tension about the rights of other media organizations to cover the event; NBC paid $3.5 billion to the International Olympics Committee to televise the five Olympics through Beijing. Other TV networks have a limited window in which to show Olympics highlights, but no video of Olympic events is permitted to be shown on any Web site besides

NBC has allowed video of Olympic trials events to be shown on other Web sites, but each site is required to link to NBCOlympics.com. All of that video must come down Aug. 7, the day before the Beijing Games start. That's going to limit the ability of Swimming World magazine, which has a heavy online component, to offer material to its users, said Brent Rutemiller, the magazine's publisher. He's also upset that limits have been placed on where other organizations can interview athletes, and that they were extended to coaches and officials. Zenkel said NBC was being fair to other organizations.

"NBC is the organization that paid a very significant rights fee for the exclusive rights to the Olympics and for that, the exclusivity will be protected," he said. "But it's not to the detriment of the Olympics fan. In fact, it's to their benefit."

Fla. man claims tea caused him to fail drug test

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A spot of tea landed a South Florida man in a spot of trouble with state prosecutors. Jerome Klein is now free while he awaits trial on a burglary charge. Authorities jailed him in April for violating bond after failing a drug test. Prosecutors didn't believe Klein's claim that a Bolivian herbal tea his mother served him had caused him to test positive for using cocaine. The tea, called Mate de Coca, is made from the coca plant. Klein has no criminal history aside from the burglary allegations and has never been arrested on drug charges. Circuit Judge John Murphy III freed Klein from the Broward County jail Friday.
Klein's mother says she gave her 50-year-old son the tea because he wasn't feeling well. She says she won't use the tea anymore.

The Shack

A kidnapped daugher is presumed dead. Her father is overwhelmed with grief and anger. Whan a letter, apparently from God, invites him to the scene of the crime, Mack can't help but go and what he find there changes him forever. For a preview visit www.theshackbook.com

Teen decapitated at theme park, police say

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A teenager died Saturday when he was decapitated at the Six Flags Over Georgia theme park outside Atlanta, authorities said. The 17-year-old park visitor was killed after scaling two 6-foot fences around the Batman roller coaster, said a statement issued by park spokeswoman Hela Sheth. He was struck by the coaster and killed, she said. "We do not know why this person was intent on gaining access to this restricted area," the statement said, noting that multiple signs are posted stating, "Danger Zone," "Do Not Enter" and "Authorized Personnel Only." "Some witnesses have stated that the individual was trying to retrieve something he had lost," Sheth's statement said. "Others reported that he was trying to touch the ride. This is merely speculation at this point, and we are working with park visitors and local police to learn more." No one on the ride was injured, she said. Police said the incident occurred about 2 p.m. The victim's family was at the park with him, Sheth said, and park representatives were with them Saturday evening. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family," she said.

New Mexico court refuses obscene name change

SANTA FE, N.M. - A New Mexico appeals court on Friday ruled against a Los Alamos man who wanted to change his name to a phrase containing a popular four-letter obscenity.
The man appealed after a state district judge in Bernalillo County refused his request to change his name to "F-Censorship!" Judge Nan Nash ruled that the proposed name change was "obscene, offensive and would not comport with common decency." The man - whose current legal name is Variable - argued on appeal that it was improper government censorship to deny him the name change. "We do not believe that the district court's action infringes on petitioner's right to free speech," a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals said in its ruling. The man has the right to call himself whatever he wants, unless there's fraud or misrepresentation involved, the judges said. But once he seeks court approval for a name change, the court has the authority to turn him down on several grounds, including if the name is offensive to common decency and good taste, the judges ruled. That law was clarified in a 2004 case in the same court that apparently involved the same petitioner. In that case, an Albuquerque man whose name was Snaphappy Fishsuit Mokiligon got the go-ahead from the appeals court to change his name to Variable.

Ugliest dog: 3 legs, 1 eye, no hair, all winner

Ugliest dog: 3 legs, 1 eye, no hair, all winner
PETALUMA, Calif. (AP) - Gus the dog has three legs, one eye and no hair, except for a white tuft on the top of his head. The pedigree Chinese crested won the World Ugliest Dog contest on Saturday at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Northern California. His owner, Jeanenne Teed, brought Gus all the way from St. Petersburg, Fla., to compete for the dubious distinction.
After the excitement of the moment, Teed characterized her dog's reaction: "Well, I think right now he's ready for a nap." The Chinese crested breed is a popular choice in this annual contest. Last year's champ, Elwood, was a Chinese crested and Chihuahua mix. Gus's owner won $500 and will be flown to New York to appear on "CBS This Morning." The event will be aired on the Animal Planet network in October.

Notice the very last line

Britons doubt cause of climate change

The majority of the British public is still not convinced that climate change is caused by humans - and many others believe scientists are exaggerating the problem, according to an exclusive poll for The Observer.
The results have shocked campaigners who hoped that doubts would have been silenced by a report last year by more than 2,500 scientists for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which found a 90 per cent chance that humans were the main cause of climate change and warned that drastic action was needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The poll found widespread contradictions, with some people saying politicians were not doing enough to tackle the problem, even though they were cynical about government attempts to impose regulations or raise taxes. In a sign of the enormous task ahead for those pushing for drastic cuts to carbon emissions, many people said they did not want to restrict their lifestyles and only a small minority believe they need to make 'significant and radical' changes such as driving and flying less.
'People are concerned, but not entirely convinced,' said Downing. 'Despite many attempts to broaden the environment movement, it doesn't seem to have become fully embedded as a mainstream concern,' he said.
More than half of those polled did not have confidence in international or British political leaders to tackle climate change, but only just over a quarter think it's too late to stop it. Two thirds want the government to do more but nearly as many said they were cynical about government policies such as green taxes, which they see as 'stealth' taxes.

This is how you get killed, it is only money

Gas station clerk jumps into car to stop theft

SPRING LAKE, Mich. (AP) - A gas station cashier in western Michigan says she thought she'd be able to stop a fuel thief by jumping in his car. Nope, he just kept driving. Twenty-one-year-old Jessica Sudy says she had already seen the same motorist leave the Spring Lake gas station twice without paying. On Wednesday she says she wrote down his license plate number, but then the man grabbed the paper from her and fled with more than $30 worth of gas. The 4-foot-9 cashier says thefts cut into her monthly bonus. So she hopped inside the car as the man drove off. She got out a block away. Police are seeking charges against a 22-year-old suspect tracked down through vehicle registration. And Sudy has gotten lectures from police, her manager and her mother.

Hundreds run in revival of ancient Greek games

Some 600 people clad in tunics raced barefoot in the ruins of an ancient stadium Saturday in a revival of games held in antiquity at Nemea, 120 kilometres (75 miles) southwest of Athens.
Two races were staged for the runners aged from 10 to 80, one of 100 metres (110 yards) and the other of 7.5 kilometres. No medals were awarded but crowns of palm branches and wild celery. The event was organised by the Society for the Revival of the Nemean Games, founded in 1994 after more than 20 years of excavation at Nemea by an archaeological team from the University of California at Berkeley headed by Steven Miller. The new games, held every four years since 1996, are a form of popular education in history, according to the organisers, as well as a counter to the commercialism of the modern Olympics, which they say "have become increasingly removed from the average person." "The Society for the Revival of the Nemean Games believes that there is scope for the average person to participate in such an international athletic festival where no records will be kept and no medals awarded," according to its website.
"Races will be organized by gender and age, and all participants will be rewarded only by feet sore from contact with the same stones and the same soil where ancient feet ran more than 2,000 years ago."

Hulk ain't so tuff

Incredibly, the Hulk has been abducted and police are investigating

LOWELL, Mass. - Missing: an eight-foot-tall green man wearing ripped purple pants and missing his feet. Police in Lowell, Mass., say a promotional statue for the movie "The Incredible Hulk" disappeared from its spot in front of a local theatre this week. Police Capt. James McPadden says the statue is probably some kid's bedroom. But he thinks more than one person was involved and that a car or pickup truck was needed to whisk it away. The statue is missing its feet because it was bolted to a platform and whoever took it snapped it off at the ankles.

Sounds of 68 - Jefferson Airplane

George Carlin mourned as a counterculture hero - RIP

LOS ANGELES (AP) — George Carlin, the frenzied performer whose routine "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television" led to a key Supreme Court ruling on obscenity, has died. Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, went into St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died later that evening, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham. He had performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. He was 71.
"He was a genius and I will miss him dearly," Jack Burns, who was the other half of a comedy duo with Carlin in the early 1960s, told The Associated Press. Carlin's jokes constantly breached the accepted boundaries of comedy and language, particularly with his routine on the "Seven Words" — all of which are taboo on broadcast TV and radio to this day.
When he uttered all seven at a show in Milwaukee in 1972, he was arrested on charges of disturbing the peace, freed on $150 bail and exonerated when a Wisconsin judge dismissed the case, saying it was indecent but citing free speech and the lack of any disturbance.
When the words were later played on a New York radio station, they resulted in a 1978 Supreme Court ruling upholding the government's authority to sanction stations for broadcasting offensive language during hours when children might be listening.
"So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I'm perversely kind of proud of," he told The Associated Press earlier this year.
Despite his reputation as unapologetically irreverent, Carlin was a television staple through the decades, serving as host of the "Saturday Night Live" debut in 1975 — noting on his Web site that he was "loaded on cocaine all week long" — and appearing some 130 times on "The Tonight Show."
He produced 23 comedy albums, 14 HBO specials, three books, a couple of TV shows and appeared in several movies, from his own comedy specials to "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" in 1989 — a testament to his range from cerebral satire and cultural commentary to downright silliness (and sometimes hitting all points in one stroke).
"Why do they lock gas station bathrooms?" he once mused. "Are they afraid someone will clean them?"
He won four Grammy Awards, each for best spoken comedy album, and was nominated for five Emmy awards. On Tuesday, it was announced that Carlin was being awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which will be presented Nov. 10 in Washington and broadcast on PBS.
Carlin started his career on the traditional nightclub circuit in a coat and tie, pairing with Burns to spoof TV game shows, news and movies. Perhaps in spite of the outlaw soul, "George was fairly conservative when I met him," said Burns, describing himself as the more left-leaning of the two. It was a degree of separation that would reverse when they came upon Lenny Bruce, the original shock comic, in the early '60s.
"We were working in Chicago, and we went to see Lenny, and we were both blown away," Burns said, recalling the moment as the beginning of the end for their collaboration if not their close friendship. "It was an epiphany for George. The comedy we were doing at the time wasn't exactly groundbreaking, and George knew then that he wanted to go in a different direction."
That direction would make Carlin as much a social commentator and philosopher as comedian, a position he would relish through the years.
"The whole problem with this idea of obscenity and indecency, and all of these things — bad language and whatever — it's all caused by one basic thing, and that is: religious superstition," Carlin told the AP in a 2004 interview. "There's an idea that the human body is somehow evil and bad and there are parts of it that are especially evil and bad, and we should be ashamed. Fear, guilt and shame are built into the attitude toward sex and the body. ... It's reflected in these prohibitions and these taboos that we have."
Carlin was born on May 12, 1937, and grew up in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan, raised by a single mother. After dropping out of high school in the ninth grade, he joined the Air Force in 1954. He received three court-martials and numerous disciplinary punishments, according to his official Web site.
While in the Air Force he started working as an off-base disc jockey at a radio station in Shreveport, La., and after receiving a general discharge in 1957, took an announcing job at WEZE in Boston.
"Fired after three months for driving mobile news van to New York to buy pot," his Web site says.
From there he went on to a job on the night shift as a deejay at a radio station in Fort Worth, Texas. Carlin also worked variety of temporary jobs including a carnival organist and a marketing director for a peanut brittle.
In 1960, he left with Burns, a Texas radio buddy, for Hollywood to pursue a nightclub career as comedy team Burns & Carlin. He left with $300, but his first break came just months later when the duo appeared on Jack Paar's "Tonight Show."
Carlin said he hoped to emulate his childhood hero, Danny Kaye, the kindly, rubber-faced comedian who ruled over the decade Carlin grew up in — the 1950s — with a clever but gentle humor reflective of the times.
It didn't work for him, and the pair broke up by 1962.
"I was doing superficial comedy entertaining people who didn't really care: Businessmen, people in nightclubs, conservative people. And I had been doing that for the better part of 10 years when it finally dawned on me that I was in the wrong place doing the wrong things for the wrong people," Carlin reflected recently as he prepared for his 14th HBO special, "It's Bad For Ya."
Eventually Carlin lost the buttoned-up look, favoring the beard, ponytail and all-black attire for which he came to be known.
But even with his decidedly adult-comedy bent, Carlin never lost his childlike sense of mischief, even voicing kid-friendly projects like episodes of the TV show "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" and the spacey Volkswagen bus Fillmore in the 2006 Pixar hit "Cars."
Carlin's first wife, Brenda, died in 1997. He is survived by wife Sally Wade; daughter Kelly Carlin McCall; son-in-law Bob McCall; brother Patrick Carlin; and sister-in-law Marlene Carlin.

It's no croc: Alligator found in Chicago River

CHICAGO (AP) - First there was a wily coyote in Chicago's downtown. Then an ill-fated cougar on the North Side. Now authorities have captured an alligator in the Chicago River. An employee of a metal manufacturing company found the 5-foot-long reptile Friday in the river's South Branch. The alligator didn't try to attack anyone and was safely pulled from the river by a reptile expert, said Anne Kent, director of the city's Animal Care and Control Department. The alligator was probably a discarded pet, officials said. It's now in the custody of the reptile expert.
The alligator was probably attracted to the river by carp, Kent said. A coyote surprised customers when it walked into a Chicago sandwich shop last year. And police shot and killed a cougar found roaming the city in April.

Sounds of 68 - The Who

Gas station clerk jumps into car to stop theft

SPRING LAKE, Mich. (AP) - A gas station cashier in western Michigan says she thought she'd be able to stop a fuel thief by jumping in his car. Nope, he just kept driving. Twenty-one-year-old Jessica Sudy says she had already seen the same motorist leave the Spring Lake gas station twice without paying. On Wednesday she says she wrote down his license plate number, but then the man grabbed the paper from her and fled with more than $30 worth of gas. The 4-foot-9 cashier says thefts cut into her monthly bonus. So she hopped inside the car as the man drove off. She got out a block away. Police are seeking charges against a 22-year-old suspect tracked down through vehicle registration. And Sudy has gotten lectures from police, her manager and her mother.

Sounds of 68 - Jim

Get Osama before I Leave Office ...

If this is all it takes then what was he waiting for?

President George W Bush has enlisted British special forces in a final attempt to capture Osama Bin Laden before he leaves the White House. Defence and intelligence sources in Washington and London confirmed that a renewed hunt was on for the leader of the September 11 attacks. “If he [Bush] can say he has killed Saddam Hussein and captured Bin Laden, he can claim to have left the world a safer place,” said a US intelligence source.

The Special Boat Service (SBS) and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment have been taking part in the US-led operations to capture Bin Laden in the wild frontier region of northern Pakistan. It is the first time they have operated across the Afghan border on a regular basis. The hunt was “completely sanctioned” by the Pakistani government, according to a UK special forces source. It involves the use of Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles fitted with Hellfire missiles that can be used to take out specific terrorist targets.

Intelligence on the whereabouts of Bin Laden is sketchy, but some analysts believe he is in the Bajaur tribal zone in northwest Pakistan. He has evaded capture for nearly seven years. “Bush is swinging for the fences in the hope of scoring a home run,” said an intelligence source, using a baseball metaphor. A Pentagon source said US forces were rolling up Al-Qaeda’s network in Pakistan in the hope of pushing Bin Laden towards the Afghan border, where the US military and bombers with guided missiles were lying in wait. “They are prepping for a major battle,” he said. The main operations in Pakistan are being undertaken by Delta, the US army special operations unit, and the British SBS.

Special forces are being sent to capture or kill Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters based on intelligence provided by the Special Reconnaissance Regiment and its US counterpart, the Security Co-ordination Detachment. The step-up in military activity has increased tensions between Pakistan and the US. A senior Pakistani government source said President Pervez Musharraf had given tacit support to Predator attacks on Al-Qaeda. Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said last week that the US would “partner [the Pakistanis] to the extent they want us to” to combat insurgents.

Sounds of 68 - Jimi

Who would have thought it ...

President Bush heralded a “new era of transatlantic unity” when he arrived in France yesterday, with the location of his speech as significant as its content. By choosing Paris for what White House officials described as “the centrepiece” of his week-long farewell trip to Europe, Mr Bush sought to put the seal on a dramatic transformation in relations with France since President Sarkozy was elected last year. Britain, which for so long has acted as a sometimes rickety bridge across the Atlantic, no longer has such strategic diplomatic importance. President Bush is spending two nights in Paris, but only one in London tomorrow — when he will have a private dinner with Gordon Brown after seeing the Queen. Much of his trip to Britain will be devoted to the relatively parochial issue of Northern Ireland before he heads home. While the Prime Minister has shied away from being seen as too close to the American President — the British Embassy in Washington, for instance, operating under strict orders to maintain a low profile — the French President has quite deliberately donned the mantle once worn by Tony Blair, defiantly — even triumphantly — talking up his love for all things American. Yesterday a US diplomat called Mr Sarkozy the “axis on which our relations with Europe will turn”, adding that his “penchant for action rather than reflection” suited Mr Bush’s own temperament.

Tattoo artist sets record with number of tattoos

DALLAS (AP) - Oliver Peck may be seeing the number 13 in his dreams. From midnight Thursday to midnight Friday, Peck completed 415 tattoos, applying the unlucky number 13 to scores of arms, legs, ankles, backs, thighs and even some rear ends. Peck claimed a mention in the Guinness Book of Records for drawing the most tattoos in a 24-hour period. He was awarded the honor by Guinness adjudicator Danny Girton Jr., according to a report on The Dallas Morning News Web site Saturday. The former record holder is Katherine Von Drachenberg, also known as Kat Von D, star of the reality TV show "LA Ink" on TLC. For several years on Friday the 13th, Elm Street Tattoo in the Deep Ellum entertainment district in Dallas has launched a 24-hour tattoo marathon. "It's an adrenaline rush," said Peck, the 36-year-old co-owner of the shop. Some of Peck's customers included firefighters, police officers, bartenders, a vehicle inspector, a nurse and a surgeon. By the time the marathon began, a line of customers snaked out the door and onto Elm Street. Sarah Hooper, 24, so obsessed with the number 13 that she tries to stop the gas pump at $13.13, got her seventh number 13 tattoo, this time on her upper left thigh. "It's something to do on the 13th," she said. Todd Smith got his first tattoo, even though his wife and children were unaware of his plans. "Since I'm 34, and I have three kids, it's my mid-life crisis," he said.

Sounds of 68 - Bob

Manson Murderer Seeks Freedom To Die

A former devotee of the notorious Californian murderer Charles Manson is pleading to be freed from prison because she has a terminal disease. Susan Atkins, who confessed to killing pregnant actress Sharon Tate during a murderous rampage in 1969, has asked for a compassionate release for her final days. Atkins, 60, has been incarcerated at the California Institution for Women at Frontera for 37 years - longer than any other female in state history. A Department of Corrections spokeswoman confirmed the prisoner was "very ill" but would not specify the nature of her medical condition. "Her condition is very serious and her prognosis is poor," she added. The authorities said a doctor had determined that Atkins has less than six months to live - which could make the application for release futile because of the time the process will take.
Atkins was the most notorious of the three women charged with Manson in the grisly slayings of Tate and six other people in the summer of 1969. It was Atkins who disclosed that the Manson Family, a cult living in a ranch commune, had been responsible for the murders. Her lawyer later complained that prosecutors broke a promise to her of leniency for breaking the case. After a sensational 10-month trial in which she originally pleaded not guilty, Atkins took the stand and confessed in graphic detail. She calmly recounted her own role in breaking into the home Tate shared with director Roman Polanski and stabbing the pregnant Tate, who pleaded for the life of her unborn baby. In her chilling testimony, she said, "I don't know how many times I stabbed her and I don't know why I stabbed her.... She kept begging and pleading and begging and pleading and I got sick of listening to it, so I stabbed her." She said the killings were committed under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs. "I was stoned, man, stoned on acid," she testified.

Former Beatle On Form In Ukraine

Tens of thousands of people have braved heavy rain and thunder to see Sir Paul McCartney perform in a charity concert in Ukraine. Sir Paul performs in rainy gig. The open-air show was billed as the biggest concert ever in the former Soviet republic. After a delay of half an hour because of the weather, the ex-Beatle came out on to the stage at Kiev's Independence Square and greeted the crowd in Ukrainian. Sir Paul, who turns 66 next week, launched straight into his set with the classic Drive My Car. The gig was broadcast live on national television and giant screens set up in five other Ukrainian cities. During the build-up, fans sang Beatles songs in a live TV link-up with the capital. The square where Macca played was the site of the Orange Revolution in 2004, when peaceful mass protests overturned a fraudulent election and brought a pro-Western opposition leader to power. The money raised from the concert will be spent on equipment for the children's department of Ukraine's National Cancer Institute. Many children are forced to go abroad for treatment because Ukraine lacks the necessary equipment. The concert itself was free but the organisers asked for donations from the Ukrainian business community.

Sounds of 68 - Mick & Keith

Baby Owls Saved By Surrogate Dad

Three burrowing owls - the only birds to live underground - have been saved after heavy rain threatened to flood their nest box. The days-old birds were found 'looking like drowned rats' near their chamber they were born - but their parents seemed to be ignoring them, London Zoo bird keeper Darren Jordan said.He has named them Huey, Dewy and Lewy. So he took the birds under his wing and hand reared them.They were kept in an incubator at the zoo and Darren became their surrogate dad. He feeds them cut meat three times a day along with weighing them and checking their temperature. They will be kept in the incubation unit for another month before going back to their real dad. Despite only being inches tall Darren says the birds are developing their own personalities and can tell them apart. They are the first birds of their kind to be born at the zoo since 1997. Darren said: "With all the rain we were worried about flooding so we brought them into the incubator section where you could say I’ve taken them under my wing and they seem to be thriving - so I’m a very proud father this year." The birds are native to North and South America and are unusual because, unlike most owls, they are active during the day instead of night. Darren does yet now the sex of the birds as he will need to send of their feathers for DNA testing when they are older.

Black Conservatives: Don't Fall For It

From: http://www.luoamerican.com/baldilocks/2008/06/one-of-todays-y.html

One of today's Yahoo News headlines informs us that 'Black conservatives [are] conflicted on Obama campaign.' Armstrong Williams, Rep. J.C. Watts, General Colin Powell, Senator Edward Brooke and, sadly, my friend Joseph C. Phillips may be falling into the trap which I have repeatedly described--one lined with pride and with fear: pride of race and fear that Obama is the last chance for a black president to be elected. (GOPAC chairman Michael Steele isn't going for the okey doke, however; but that may be only due to his position.) People say that women have problems thinking objectively and strategically. Well, I'm seeing a whole group of men who are having that problem. Friends, you're letting the nearness of a dream's seeming fulfillment blind you to what will likely come after that ephemeral happiness is dissipated, after the novelty has worn off: the nightmare. And guess who will get blamed for that short-sightedness? Not just you. With 90+ percent of black Americans voting Democrat regardless of who the candidate is, it will be bad enough as it is. But I, for one, expect you, black conservative Republican men to have enough balls to stand on principle, not on your emotions. You've shown your testicular fortitude by being publicly conservative against a tide of Identity Politics. Don't start behaving like castrati now. Stop thinking selfishly. We're not choosing a President of Black American Dream Fulfillment; we're choosing a President of the United States.

Sounds of 68 - Paul & John

Egypt bans 92-year-old from marrying teenage bride

Egyptian authorities have banned a 92-year-old Saudi man from marrying a poor teenage girl 75 years his junior, a judicial source said on Saturday. The justice ministry made its ruling under a law designed to prevent wealthy Arabs from the Gulf from snapping up young Egyptian girls and which forbids marriage when there is an age gap of 25 years or more. The unidentified Saudi holidaymaker proposed marriage to a 17-year-old village girl and offered a dowry of about 28,000 dollars as well as gold jewellery, the source said. "Her parents, who are very poor, accepted," he told AFP. But the justice ministry refused to register to marriage, citing the legislation brought in during the Gulf oil boom. However, according to Egypt's Al-Akhbar newspaper, the authorities allowed 173 such marriages last year after the foreign husbands paid the equivalent of 8,000 dollars into the Egyptian National Bank.

Illinois man changes name to 'In God We Trust'

ZION, Ill. (AP) - A school bus driver and amateur artist from the Chicago suburb of Zion has legally changed his name to "In God We Trust." A Lake County circuit court judge approved Steve Kreuscher's (CROY'- shirz) name change petition on Friday. The 57-year-old's first name was changed to "In God," while his last name was changed to "We Trust." He says the new name symbolizes the help God gave him during tough times and says he can't wait to begin signing his artwork with the new moniker.

Best Pictures From Hubble #1

The Sombrero Galaxy - 28 million light years from Earth - was voted best picture taken by the Hubble telescope. The dimensions of the galaxy, officially called M104 , are as spectacular as its appearance. It has 800 billion suns and is 50,000 light years across.

Pa. man walks 25 miles to court for DUI sentencing

CARLISLE, Pa.—A man facing sentencing on a drunken-driving conviction couldn't get a ride to court. So he start walking. And walking. Stephen Shoemaker was scheduled to appear at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday for sentencing. Shoemaker, 33, of Shippensburg, doesn't have a car or driver's license. So he started hoofing it to the courthouse at dawn. He kept walking for about 25 miles in 90-plus-degree heat. Shoemaker arrived about 3:30 p.m. -- after a detour to a hospital, where he was treated for dehydration. Judge Edward Guido had issued an arrest warrant when Shoemaker failed to appear. But he agreed to defer sentencing until July. Guido said he hesitated only because "that means he'll have to walk back to Shippensburg." Deputy Public Defender Anthony Adams volunteered to give Shoemaker a ride home.

Best Pictures From Hubble #2

The Ant Nebula, a cloud of dust and gas whose technical name is Mz3, resembles an ant when observed using ground-based telescopes. The nebula lies within our galaxy between 3,000 and 6,000 light years from Earth.

Dumb Ass Hall Of Fame #5

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Frank Keys Jr. faces up to 40 years in prison after he was found cruising down the highway with more than 200 grams of heroin in the diaper he was wearing, federal officials said. Keys, 38, of New Orleans was charged Friday by a federal grand jury. He got in trouble June 3 in St. John the Baptist Parish, north of New Orleans, when sheriff's deputies pulled over the car he was in for a traffic violation, according to court documents. The deputies and Drug Enforcement Agency special agents got permission to search the car, and a drug sniffing dog alerted them to the car's passenger side. The occupants were ordered out of the car, and patted down. During the pat-down, "officers felt a large hard object in the pants area on Keys," according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office. Keys told officers he was wearing a diaper and when they asked if there was anything in the diaper, he "shook his head affirmatively." Officers then removed a package containing about 257 grams of heroin from the diaper.

Best Pictures From Hubble #3

In third place is Nebula NGC 2392, called Eskimo because it looks like a face surrounded by a furry hood. The hood is, in fact, a ring of comet-shaped objects flying away from a dying star. Eskimo is 5,000 light years from Earth.

Best Pictures From Hubble #4

At four is the Cat's Eye Nebula

Best Pictures From Hubble #5

The Hourglass Nebula, 8,000 light years away, has a pinched-in-the-middle look because the winds that shape it are weaker at the centre.

Baby Miraculously Survives Abortion, Expected to Live 'Normal' Life

A mother who decided to abort her son because he may have inherited a life-threatening kidney condition is overjoyed that he survived the procedure. Jodie Percival of Nottinghamshire, England, said she and her fiancee made the decision to abort baby Finley when she was eight weeks pregnant. Percival's first son Thane died of multicystic dysplastic kidneys — which causes cysts to grow on the kidneys of an unborn baby — and her second child Lewis was born with serious kidney damage and currently has just one kidney, the Daily Mail reported. "I was on the (birth control pill) when I became pregnant," Percival, 25, said. "Deciding to terminate at eight weeks was just utterly horrible but I couldn't cope with the anguish of losing another baby."
A short time after the abortion, Percival felt a fluttering in her stomach. She went to the doctor for a scan and discovered she was 19 weeks pregnant. "I couldn't believe it,' Percival said. "This was the baby I thought I'd terminated. At first I was angry that this was happening to us, that the procedure had failed. I wrote to the hospital, I couldn't believe that they had let me down like this. "They wrote back and apologized and said it was very rare," she added. Dr. Manny Alvarez, managing health editor for FOXNews.com, said Percival's situation is actually quite common. "Women that have early terminations in weeks six, seven and eight, many times the pregnancy is so small that doctors miss removing the baby," Alvarez said. "The danger is that the failed attempt can damage the baby. That is why these patients who get early terminations need follow-ups." Another scan a week later confirmed the baby also had kidney problems, but doctors told the couple the baby was likely to survive, so they decided he deserved another chance at life. In November, Finley was born three weeks premature. He had minor kidney damage but is expected to lead a normal life.

Best Pictures From Hubble #6

In sixth place is the Cone Nebula. The part pictured here is 2.5 light years in length(the equivalent of 23 million return trips to the Moon).

Wyo. festival to offer chances to dunk a Democrat

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Republicans will get a rare opportunity this weekend to show that the Democrats are all wet. All they need is $5 and a good throwing arm. Four Democratic candidates for federal office have volunteered to get dunked in chilly water at the annual Jackalope Days festival in Douglas, about 115 miles north of Cheyenne. When someone hits a target with a softball at the "Dunk a Democrat" booth, in will go House candidate Gary Trauner, or Senate hopefuls Chris Rothfuss, Nick Carter or Keith Goodenough. The money will go to the Converse County Democratic Party. "It's a commitment. It's a sacrifice. It's one of those things that needs to be done if we're serious about this election," said Bill Luckett, executive director of the state Democratic Party. Last year's event yielded $400. The party hopes to double that amount this year. State Rep. Dave Edwards, a Republican, said he might watch, but not give it a shot. "That would be me contributing to their campaign," he said. The county has about a 4-to-1 ratio of registered Republicans to registered Democrats.

Best Pictures From Hubble #7

In 7th Place , The Perfect Storm, a small region in the Swan Nebula, 5,500 light years away, described as 'a bubbly ocean of hydrogen and small amounts of oxygen, sulphur and other elements'.

Black Japanese watermelon sold at record price

A black jumbo watermelon produced in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido is on sale for 630,000 yen (US$ 5,945) at Tokyo's Isetan department store Friday, June 6, 2008 shortly after being flown into Tokyo, some 500 miles south of Hokkaido, following its bidding earlier in the day. The 24-pounder (11 kilograms) premium Densuke is the biggest among the first of 65 sold as part of the season's initial harvest and another Densuke that weighs 17-pound (8-kilogram) has fetched a record 650,000 yen ($6,100), making it the most expensive watermelon ever sold in the country _ and possibly the world. (AP Photo/Tomoko A. Hosaka)

Man, 84, finally gets to attend high school prom

CHESTER, Pa. (AP) - He arrived in style: a black limo, a sharp tuxedo, a beautiful date and with an adoring crowd waiting for him. Kenneth Smith, 84, attended the Chester High School prom on Thursday night—fashionably late. Decades late. Smith was drafted into military service 1943, before he could finish high school. He returned home after World War II but never got his high school diploma. A friend arranged for him to receive an honorary diploma from Chester High School, just outside Philadelphia, and finally go to the prom. He did—at the Springfield Country Club. Smith said this prom wasn't just for him. He said it was also for all the other soldiers who couldn't make it to their own.

Best Pictures From Hubble #8

In 8th place, Starry Night, so named because it reminded astronomers of the Van Gogh painting. It is a halo of light around a star in the Milky Way. Like ... 'Wow!'

Nobel winner reunited with sister

SALT LAKE CITY - University of Utah geneticist Mario Capecchi got a bonus after winning the Nobel Prize for medicine last fall: He learned he has a younger sister. Capecchi, 70, and half-sister Marlene Bonelli, 69, met last month in northern Italy. It was technically a reunion, but really more of an introduction; they were too young to remember when they were separated in the early days of the Second World War. Bonelli had long believed that Capecchi and their mother had died in the war, he told The Salt Lake Tribune. Capecchi's mother gave birth to Bonelli in 1939, when her son was a toddler. Lucy Ramberg, a left-leaning American artist who was imprisoned for much of the war, handed over the baby girl to friends living in Austria, where Bonelli still lives. Bonelli recognized Capecchi's name after he won the Nobel Prize in October and informed the media in Austria that the famous scientist was her brother. The newspaper Dolomiten sent Capecchi photos of Bonelli. "Looking at the pictures, it was obviously my sister," Capecchi said, noting her resemblance to their mother. The Dolomiten arranged for the May 23 reunion at a hotel, where the siblings hugged, shared photos and spoke through an interpreter. "She doesn't speak English and I don't speak German, and neither of us speaks Italian, although I can get away with it in a restaurant," Capecchi said. The reunion was another dramatic turn in Capecchi's life story. Born in 1937, Capecchi was separated from his mother during World War II. The two were reunited at the end of the war, when he was nine, and they moved to the United States. As a child in America, Capecchi started on what became a brilliant academic career. It was capped off by winning the Nobel Prize, along with two Britons, for work that led to a powerful and widely used technique to manipulate genes in mice, and which advanced the understanding of a range of killer diseases.

Best Pictures From Hubble #9

In 9th place, The glowering eyes from 114 million light years away are the swirling cores of two merging galaxies called NGC 2207 and IC 2163 in the distant Canis Major constellation.

Best Pictures From Hubble #10

In 10th place, The Trifid Nebula. A 'stellar nursery', 9,000 light years from here, It is where new stars are being born.

Plane missing since 1984 found in Texas lake

FRITCH, Texas -- What searchers couldn't find, drought helped reveal. Canoeists on receding Lake Meredith in the Texas Panhandle found a small plane that crashed in 1984, the National Park Service said in a statement Saturday. The 25-year-old pilot and a passenger died in the crash, according to a report by the National Transportation Safety Board. The Park Service didn't say whether it had recovered any remains. A wheel from the plane and a jacket believed to have been the pilot's were found floating on the lake in the two days after the crash. But a six-day dive turned up nothing else, according to the report. Park Service workers have closed the area around the wreckage so they can investigate, spokeswoman Rozanna Pfeiffer said in the statement. Lake Meredith, about 20 miles north of Amarillo, is at just 8 percent of its capacity, according to the latest monthly report from the Texas Water Development Board.

Japan man discovers woman living in his closet

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese man who was mystified when food kept disappearing from his kitchen, set up a hidden camera and found an unknown woman living secretly in his closet, Japanese media said Friday. The 57-year-old unemployed man of Fukuoka in southern Japan called police Wednesday when the camera sent pictures to his mobile phone of an intruder in his home while he was out on Wednesday, the Asahi newspaper said on its Website. Officers rushed to the house and found a 58-year-old unemployed woman hiding in an unused closet, where she had secreted a mattress and plastic drink bottles, the Asahi said. Police suspect she may have been there for several months, the paper said. "I didn't have anywhere to live," the Nikkan Sports tabloid quoted the woman as telling police. Local police confirmed that they had arrested a woman for trespassing, but would not comment further on the case.
(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by David Fox)

Brazil says uncontacted Amazon tribe threatened

By MICHAEL ASTOR RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) — Brazil's government agreed to release stunning photos of Amazon Indians firing arrows at an airplane so that the world can better understand the threats facing one of the few tribes still living in near-total isolation from civilization, officials said Friday. Anthropologists have known about the group for some 20 years but released the images now to call attention to fast-encroaching development near the Indians' home in the dense jungles near Peru. "We put the photos out because if things continue the way they are going, these people are going to disappear," said Jose Carlos Meirelles, who coordinates government efforts to protect four "uncontacted" tribes for Brazil's National Indian Foundation.

Shot in late April and early May, the foundation's photos show about a dozen Indians, mostly naked and painted red, wielding bows and arrows outside six grass-thatched huts. Meirelles told The Associated Press in a phone interview that anthropologists know next to nothing about the group, but suspect it is related to the Tano and Aruak tribes. Brazil's National Indian Foundation believes there may be as many as 68 "uncontacted" groups around Brazil, although only 24 have been officially confirmed. Anthropologists say almost all of these tribes know about western civilization and have sporadic contact with prospectors, rubber tappers and loggers, but choose to turn their backs on civilization, usually because they have been attacked. "It's a choice they made to remain isolated or maintain only occasional contacts, but these tribes usually obtain some modern goods through trading with other Indians," said Bernardo Beronde, an anthropologist who works in the region.

Brazilian officials once tried to contact such groups. Now they try to protectively isolate them. The four tribes monitored by Meirelles include perhaps 500 people who roam over an area of about 1.6 million acres (630,000 hectares). He said that over the 20 years he has been working in the area, the number of "malocas," or grass-roofed huts, has doubled, suggesting that the policy of isolation is working and that populations are growing. Remaining isolated, however, gets more complicated by the day.

Loggers are closing in on the Indians' homeland — Brazil's environmental protection agency said Friday it had shut down 28 illegal sawmills in Acre state, where these tribes are located. And logging on the Peruvian border has sent many Indians fleeing into Brazil, Meirelles said. "On the Brazilian side we don't have logging yet, but I'd like to emphasize the 'yet,'" he said. A new road being paved from Peru into Acre will likely bring in hordes of poor settlers. Other Amazon roads have led to 30 miles (50 kilometers) of rain forest being cut down on each side, scientists say. While "uncontacted" Indians often respond violently to contact — Meirelles caught an arrow in the face from some of the same Indians in 2004 — the greater threat is to the Indians. "First contact is often completely catastrophic for "uncontacted" tribes. It's not unusual for 50 percent of the tribe to die in months after first contact," said Miriam Ross, a campaigner with the Indian rights group Survival International. "They don't generally have immunity to diseases common to outside society. Colds and flu that aren't usually fatal to us can completely wipe them out."

Survival International estimates about 100 tribes worldwide have chosen to avoid contact, but said the only truly uncontacted tribe is the Sentinelese, who live on North Sentinel island off the coast of India and shoot arrows at anyone who comes near. Last year, the Metyktire tribe, with about 87 members, was discovered in a densely jungled portion of the 12.1-million-acre (4.9-million-hectare) Menkregnoti Indian reservation in the Brazilian Amazon, when two of its members showed up at another tribe's village.

100 Greatest Songs - Rolling Stone

1. Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan
2. Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones
3. Imagine, John Lennon
4. What's Going On, Marvin Gaye
5. Respect, Aretha Franklin
6. Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys
7. Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry
8. Hey Jude, The Beatles
9. Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
10. What'd I Say, Ray Charles
11. My Generation, The Who
12. A Change Is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke
13. Yesterday, The Beatles
14. Blowin' in the Wind, Bob Dylan
15. London Calling, The Clash
16. I Want to Hold Your Hand, The Beatles
17. Purple Haze, Jimi Hendrix
18. Maybellene, Chuck Berry
19. Hound Dog, Elvis Presley
20. Let It Be, The Beatles
21. Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
22. Be My Baby, The Ronettes
23. In My Life, The Beatles
24. People Get Ready, The Impressions
25. God Only Knows, The Beach Boys
26. A Day in the Life, The Beatles
27. Layla, Derek and the Dominos
28. (Sittin on) the Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding
29. Help!, The Beatles
30. I Walk the Line, Johnny Cash
31. Stairway To Heaven, Led Zeppelin
32. Sympathy for the Devil, The Rolling Stones
33. River Deep - Mountain High, Ike and Tina Turner
34. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', The Righteous Brothers
35. Light My Fire, The Doors
36. One, U2
37. No Woman, No Cry, Bob Marley and the Wailers
38. Gimme Shelter, The Rolling Stones
39. That'll Be the Day, Buddy Holly and the Crickets
40. Dancing in the Street, Martha and the Vandellas
41. The Weight, The Band
42. Waterloo Sunset, The Kinks
43. Tutti-Frutti, Little Richard
44. Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles
45. Heartbreak Hotel, Elvis Presley
46. Heroes, David Bowie
47. Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel
48. All Along the Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix
49. Hotel California, The Eagles
50. The Tracks of My Tears, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
51. The Message, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
52. When Doves Cry, Prince
53. Anarchy in the U.K., The Sex Pistols
54. When a Man Loves a Woman, Percy Sledge
55. Louie Louie, The Kingsmen
56. Long Tall Sally, Little Richard
57. Whiter Shade of Pale, Procol Harum
58. Billie Jean, Michael Jackson
59. The Times They Are A-Changin', Bob Dylan
60. Let's Stay Together, Al Green
61. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On, Jerry Lee Lewis
62. Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley
63. For What It's Worth, Buffalo Springfield
64. She Loves You, The Beatles
65. Sunshine of Your Love, Cream
66. Redemption Song, Bob Marley and the Wailers
67. Jailhouse Rock, Elvis Presley
68. Tangled Up in Blue, Bob Dylan
69. Crying, Roy Orbison
70. Walk On By, Dionne Warwick
71. California Girls, The Beach Boys
72. Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, James Brown
73. Summertime Blues, Eddie Cochran
74. Superstition, Stevie Wonder
75. Whole Lotta Love, Led Zeppelin
76. Strawberry Fields Forever,The Beatles
77. Mystery Train, Elvis Presley
78. I Got You (I Feel Good), James Brown
79. Mr. Tambourine Man, The Byrds
80. I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Marvin Gaye
81. Blueberry Hill, Fats Domino
82. You Really Got Me, The Kinks
83. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), The Beatles
84. Every Breath You Take, The Police
85. Crazy, Patsy Cline
86. Thunder Road, Bruce Springsteen
87. Ring of Fire, Johnny Cash
88. My Girl, The Temptations
89. California Dreamin', The Mamas and The Papas
90. In the Still of the Nite, The Five Satins
91. Suspicious Minds, Elvis Presley
92. Blitzkrieg Bop, Ramones
93. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, U2
94. Good Golly, Miss Molly, Little Richard
95. Blue Suede Shoes, Carl Perkins
96. Great Balls of Fire, Jerry Lee Lewis
97. Roll Over Beethoven, Chuck Berry
98. Love and Happiness, Al Green
99. Fortunate Son, Creedence Clearwater Revival
100. You Can't Always Get What You Want, The Rolling Stones

American motorists are understandably grumbling over skyrocketing gas prices as the summer travel season approaches. But their pain hardly registers against the rage afoot in Europe these days. Fishermen, truck drivers and farmers are threatening to bring entire economic sectors to a halt with protests against crippling fuel costs. The wave of angry action is expected to spread further across Europe in coming days, despite efforts by political leaders to feel the pain and figure out how to alleviate it.

Strikes and blockades staged over the past three weeks by French fishermen spread this week to Spanish ports; Italy, Portugal, and Greece expect more of the same on Friday as mariners seek to force national governments to offset marine diesel prices, which have shot up by 40% since January. Single boat owners and entire trawler fleets face a real threat of bankruptcy.
Matters are no better on land. On Tuesday, hundreds of British truck drivers in London and Cardiff brought traffic to a crawl in a campaign to get their government to lower taxes on diesel fuel, which now costs over $11 per U.S. gallon (3.8 liters). Other businesses owners who rely heavily on gas use — including farmers, ambulance and taxi drivers, and private bus companies — have joined the protest movement or are preparing to do so.

Those labor protests reflect the hit millions of Europeans are taking at the gas pump. As American drivers groan over prices nearing $4 a gallon, the French are paying $8.67 for a gallon of super, compared to $7.10 in January, 2007. A gallon of diesel in French gas stations averages $8.54, up from $5.35 just a year ago. And in the U.K. diesel costs $11.50 per gallon, compared to around $3.90 in the U.S. Across the European Union, the average cost of a gallon of gas runs to about $8.70 — more than twice what Americans are shelling out to fill up. And Europe's dizzying fuel costs would be even worse if it weren't for the considerable appreciation of the euro and the British pound against the dollar over the past year, which has partially offset the price escalation in dollar-traded oil.

One big reason for the difference is that European governments put a much higher tax burden on fuel than the U.S. does. State and federal taxes currently make up just 11% of the pump price in the U.S., according to the Energy Information Administration; in France and the U.K., taxes account for an average of around 70%.

Theodore Roosevelt

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even if checkered with failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat"

12-year-old W.Va. girl stung by scorpion at store

BARBOURSVILLE, W.Va. (AP) - One young shopper at a Wal-Mart in West Virginia had to watch out for more than falling prices. A 12-year-old girl picking up a seedless watermelon from a bin was stung by a tan, inch-long scorpion that had apparently stowed away in a shipment from Mexico. Megan Templeton, of Barboursville, was taken to the hospital as a precaution but later released. Her father, William Templeton, said the pain was a little worse than a bee sting.
He initially didn't believe his daughter when she said she had been stung by a scorpion, but then he saw the critter scurry underneath a box. It was captured by Wal-Mart employees. Most of the nearly 2,000 kinds of scorpions are not dangerous to humans. Richard Coyle, senior director of international affairs for Wal-Mart, said store employees believe the problem was with a single shipment of watermelons. "We are very concerned," he said. "This is a very rare incident. When I spoke with the store manager, she said in her 17 years she had never heard of something like this."