MP3 Player Father Bought at Wal-Mart for Daughter, 10, Was Preloaded With Porn

From Foxnews.com:

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — A father gave his 10-year-old daughter a Christmas present that would make Santa blush.

Now Daryl Hill wants to know why an MP3 video player he bought at a Wal-Mart in Sparta was preloaded with pornography and explicit songs.

Hill bought three of the players as Christmas presents for his children. He said one of the devices had apparently been returned to the store from a previous owner who loaded sex clips and songs with lyrics about using drugs.

"Within 10 minutes, my daughter was crying," Hill said Thursday. "I wish I could take the thoughts and images out of her head."

Hill questioned why Wal-Mart Stores Inc. would sell used merchandise as new, which he said violates its own policies.

A company spokesman said in an e-mail to WSMV-TV of Nashville that stores are not supposed to return opened packages to the sales floor and that the matter was under investigation.

Hill said he declined Wal-Mart's offer to replace the MP3 player. He said he has already bought his daughter a new one and is hanging onto the controversial one until he talks to a lawyer.

Teacher Arrested After Offering Good Grades For Oral Sex

From Foxnews.com:

BARTOW, Fla. — Police say a Bartow High School student hoping to improve her math grades through extra credit instead got a lewd request from her teacher.

Isaac Nathan Tillis was arrested after repeatedly telling student she could earn an "A" if she gave him oral sex. He lured the girl into a teacher's lounge bathroom on Wednesday, but once inside police and the girl sprung a trap.

The 16-year-old was wearing a hidden listening device, which recorded Tillis' proposition after he dropped his pants, police say. The 29-year-old teacher had also scribbled his request on a hall pass, an arrest report states.

Officers arrested Tillis and charged him with soliciting a lewd sex act from a minor.

JOHN EDWARDS MISTRESS PREGNANT?

SOURCE:

Presidential candidate John Edwards is caught up in a love child scandal, a blockbuster ENQUIRER investigation has discovered.

The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively that Rielle Hunter, a woman linked to Edwards in a cheating scandal earlier this year, is more than six months pregnant — and she's told a close confidante that Edwards is the father of her baby!

The ENQUIRER's political bombshell comes just weeks after Edwards emphatically denied having an affair with Rielle, who formerly worked on his campaign and told another close pal that she was romantically involved with the married ex-senator.

The ENQUIRER has now confirmed not only that Rielle is expecting, but that she's gone into hiding with the help of a former aide to Edwards. The visibly pregnant blonde has relocated from the New York area to Chapel Hill, N.C., where she is living in an upscale gated community near political operative Andrew Young, who's been extremely close to Edwards for years and was a key official in his presidential campaign.

And in a bizarre twist, Young — a 41-year-old married man with young children — now claims HE is the father of Rielle's baby! But others are skeptical, wondering if Young's paternity claim is a cover-up to protect Edwards.

Meanwhile, Edwards' cancer-stricken wife Elizabeth has joined him on the campaign trail.

In a statement issued to The ENQUIRER through her attorney, Rielle said: "The fact that I am expecting a child is my personal and private business. This has no relationship to nor does it involve John Edwards in any way. Andrew Young is the father of my unborn child."

But a source extremely close to the 43-year-old divorcée says Rielle has told a far different story privately: "Rielle told me she had a secret affair with Edwards. When she found out that she was pregnant, she said he was the father."

Rielle loves Edwards and will do anything to protect him, the source says.

In The ENQUIRER's Oct. 22 issue, we revealed that Edwards, 54, was involved in a mistress scandal and the shocking allegations — if proven true — could devastate the Democratic hopeful's campaign.

At the time, we withheld Rielle's name, but reported that an insider told The ENQUIRER that she claimed that she began the affair some 18 months earlier. She talked about her relationship in phone calls and e-mails.

After our story was published, several political bloggers correctly identified "the other woman" as Rielle, a self-described filmmaker whose company was hired by a pro-Edwards group called One America Committee and paid $114,000 to produce videos for Edwards' campaign. She worked with Edwards on those videos.

Reporters asked Edwards about The ENQUIRER report during a campaign stop in Columbia, S.C., on Oct. 11. Edwards responded: "The story is false. It's completely untrue, ridiculous," adding: "Anyone who knows me knows that I have been in love with the same woman for 30 plus years."

Rielle issued her own statement through MyDD.com, a pro-Democratic Web site, saying: "The innuendos and lies that have appeared on the Internet and in the National Enquirer concerning John Edwards are not true, completely unfounded and ridiculous.

"My video production company was hired by the Edwards camp on a six-month contract, which we completed Dec. 31, 2006. When working for the Edwards camp, my conduct as well as the conduct of my entire team was completely professional."

But what the rest of the press didn't know is that when Rielle made that claim, she was pregnant, hiding it and had told her confidante it was Edwards' baby.

That's also when it was decided Rielle would relocate to North Carolina, said the source.

The ENQUIRER has confirmed that Young placed Rielle in a rental home in the Governors Club, the same gated community where he lives in a multimillion-dollar home with his wife Cheri and their young children. That home is owned by an Edwards' backer and is less than five miles from Edwards' national campaign headquarters in Chapel Hill, N.C.

A former "Director of Operations" for Edwards' campaign, Young's last official position with the campaign was "North Carolina Finance Director." He left that job about a month ago - about the same time Rielle settled in Chapel Hill.

A source close to Young vehemently denies that he funneled campaign money to Rielle - who drives a BMW SUV registered in Young's name.

The ENQUIRER spotted Rielle — visibly pregnant in a black sweater and loose-fitting slacks — leaving her OB/GYN's office in Cary, N.C., on Dec. 12.

And when asked for a comment about her relationship with Edwards by an ENQUIRER reporter, Rielle responded: "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Asked why she was living in Young's gated community, she answered: "I have no idea what you are talking about."

When asked who fathered her baby, she answered: "I have no idea who you're talking about or what you're talking about."

She even denied that she was Rielle Hunter!

But things changed dramatically when The ENQUIRER contacted Edwards for a comment just days later.

Edwards' lawyer called The ENQUIRER and denied the well-coiffed Democratic candidate is the father of Rielle's baby, adding that Rielle would deny it as well.

A day later, in a shocking twist, the attorney for Mr. Young issued a statement that Young fathered Rielle's baby!

"Andrew Young is the father of Ms. Hunter's unborn child," declared his Washington, D.C.-based attorney.

"Sen. Edwards knew nothing about the relationship between these former co-workers, which began when they worked together in 2006.

"As a private citizen who no longer works for the campaign, Mr. Young asks that the media respect his privacy while he works to make amends with his family."

Neither Young nor Rielle offered any evidence of their prior romantic relationship, and both turned down an ENQUIRER request to take polygraph tests on the claim that Young fathered her child.

Now some insiders wonder whether Young's paternity claim is simply a cover-up to protect his longtime pal Edwards.

"If you have an alternate explanation for a scandal, you don't take 24 hours to offer that explanation, let alone days or weeks," a political insider told The ENQUIRER.

Simply put, Edwards could have nipped the earlier cheating scandal in the bud by instructing his aides to explain that Rielle had been romantically involved with a married man on the campaign. But he didn't.

Instead, Rielle has been telling a confidante that Edwards is the father of her child.

"Rielle told me while Andrew Young is a friend, she's not romantically involved with him," says the source close to Rielle. "Rielle says he's been responsible for finding her a place to live and even getting her a car to drive.

"If he really were the father of her baby and had engaged in an extramarital affair with her, I doubt seriously that he'd bring his wife and kids over to her house for dinner — which Rielle told me he did a few weeks ago.

"Rielle has said from the beginning that the baby is John's, but she appears willing to do whatever they want her to do to protect his candidacy.

"I think what's taking place is simply a cover-up by Edwards' campaign."

And no one has denied the source's information that Rielle has been in phone contact with Edwards since finding out she is pregnant.

When ENQUIRER reporters contacted Young in person at his home on Dec. 12, he became furious — and denied he was Andrew Young.

He also denied knowing "any Rielle Hunter," yelling at the top of his voice: "You don't even know who I am!" But when his wife called him "Andrew," he shot her a dirty look.

An enraged Young called police, demanding our reporters be arrested for trespassing. Officers from the Chatham County (N.C.) Sheriff's Department responded, questioned everyone and made no arrests.

While controversy swirls around her, Rielle — a wannabe actress who by her own admission was a drug-using New York party girl in the '80s — stayed in touch with Edwards.

"Rielle told me that she remains in phone contact with John, but can't see him for obvious reasons," said the source close to her.

JUDGE SIDES WITH MAN FIRED OVER "DILBERT" COMIC STRIP

From Foxnews.com:
DES MOINES, Iowa — A judge has sided with a man who was fired for posting a "Dilbert" comic strip that made fun of managers on an office bulletin board.

David Steward was fired from the Catfish Bend Casino because management found the cartoon "very offensive," human resources director Steve Morley testified at a recent unemployment benefits hearing. The casino had challenged his claim for unemployment benefits.

"Basically, he was accusing the decision-makers of being drunken lemurs," Morley testified. "We consider that misconduct when you insult your employer."

According to state records, Steward posted the comic in late October, shortly after officials announced the casino in Burlington would be closed.

In the strip, Dilbert and another character are shown having the following exchange:

"Why does it seem as if most of the decisions in my workplace are made by drunken lemurs?"

"Decisions are made by people who have time, not people who have talent."

"Why are talented people so busy?"

"They're fixing the problems made by people who have time."

Steward testified that he posted the comic partly because of the impending layoffs.

"I thought maybe it would cheer some people up," he said. "I found it humorous."

Administrative Law Judge Lynette Donner sided with Steward, ruling it was "a good-faith error in judgment," not intentional misbehavior.

"Dilbert" creator Scott Adams said it might have been the first confirmed instance of a worker being fired for posting a "Dilbert" strip in a workplace.

Gay Ind. teen sues school that wouldn't let him go to prom in a dress

from CourtTV.com:

When Kevin Logan went to his high school prom in 2006, he was hoping it would be a night to remember. What he'll remember, though, will be standing outside in the parking lot while his classmates danced inside.

As Logan walked up to the prom, clad in a pink prom dress, West Side High School Principal Diana Rouse blocked the doorway and refused to let him inside.

Logan, who goes by the name "K.K." and describes himself as a gay bisexual male, filed a suit Dec. 12 against Rouse and the school board, claiming they violated his civil rights by denying him entrance to the prom based on his attire.

"What should have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Logan to share memories with friends before graduation became an episode of humiliation and exclusion," the suit states.

When contacted by phone, Rouse declined to speak, referring comment to the school board public information spokesperson before hanging up. The school board declined to comment because of the pending litigation.

According to the suit, Logan had long expressed his sexual identity through clothing and makeup at school, and was never punished for it. During the first week of Logan's senior year in high school in Gary, Ind., he was taken to Rouse's office by security guards, where he was questioned about the purse he was wearing. But, he was sent back to class without being disciplined, according to the suit.

In the time leading up to prom, Logan had discussed his prom outfit with the assistant principal and Rouse. Rouse opposed a dress and suggested a pantsuit. However, the assistant principal told Logan he should wear whatever he wanted, according to the suit.

On May 19, 2006, Logan headed to the Avalon Manor in Hobart, Ind., wearing an ankle-length pink prom dress. He walked past the groups of parents and friends taking pictures outside the prom and toward the main door. That's when Rouse stretched her arms across the door, blocking Logan from entering, according to the suit.

Logan claims Rouse ordered him to leave and called security. Humiliated, Logan claims, he walked to the parking lot to take pictures with his friends while everyone else danced inside. As they snapped photos, word spread inside that Logan was not being allowed into the prom. According to the suit, students and teachers came outside to voice their support, with some asking Rouse to change her mind. She refused.

Although Logan was denied entrance, according to his attorney Jim Madigan, a lesbian student was allowed inside the prom wearing a tuxedo-style outfit.

"Society thinks it's OK for women to want to be a little more masculine, but it's not OK for male students to act in a way that is feminine," Madigan told CourtTVnews.com "That double standard really is something that's sort of an old stereotype. It's a double standard that's a remnant of sex discrimination."

Madigan said he contacted the school asking for all the reasons why Logan was denied entrance to the prom. The school cited a community school board policy governing dress code, which prohibits any clothing or accessories that advertise "sexual orientation, sex, drugs, alcohol tobacco, profanity, negative social or negative educational statements."

In addition to unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, Madigan and his client are seeking to have the dress policy ruled unconstitutional on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment.

"You simply cannot tell gay students that anything in their clothing that makes clear that they are gay, lesbian or transgender is inappropriate," Madigan said.

The suit is not only an attempt to justify Logan's right to wear a dress to prom, Madigan said, but is an effort to provide protection to other students who will follow after him.

"A judgment in Logan's favor not only will vindicate the violation of his civil rights but will also protect countless other students whose expression of their sexual orientation or gender identity would otherwise be chilled by Defendants' unconstitutional actions," the suit states.

MAN SUSPECTED OF MURDERING EMILY SANDER ARRESTED

From Foxnews.com:

EL DORADO, Kan. — A man suspected in the slaying of a college student who led a secret life as an Internet porn performer was arrested Wednesday in Mexico, authorities said.

Israel Mireles, 24, was arrested in Melchor Muzquiz, Mexico, U.S. Deputy Marshal Logan Kline said. Mireles was being held in that country until he can be extradited to the U.S., Kline said.

Emily Sander, 18, was last seen alive on Nov. 23 as she left an El Dorado bar with a man police identified as Mireles. Her disappearance drew nationwide attention after it was discovered that she also led a secret life as an Internet porn model named Zoey Zane.

Kline declined to provide additional details about the arrest. A news conference was scheduled for later Wednesday in El Dorado.

Surgeon in Hot Water After Photographing Patient's Tattooed Genitals

From Foxnews.com:

PHOENIX — A surgeon faces a disciplinary hearing for snapping a photo of a patient's tattooed genitals during an operation and showing it around to other doctors.

Mayo Clinic Hospital administrators said Dr. Adam Hansen, chief resident of general surgery, admitted taking the photo with his cell phone on Dec. 11. The tattoo on strip club owner Sean Dubowik's penis reads: "Hot Rod."

Dubowik, who had undergone a gallbladder operation, said he learned of the photo Monday when the Mayo Clinic called.

"I got a strange call after my surgery from a doctor who said there was a problem. He said Hansen was on the phone and would explain," he said.

Dubowik, 27, said Hansen told him he took the picture while inserting a catheter into his penis. A member of the surgical staff made an anonymous call about the photo to The Arizona Republic on Monday.

"He told me he didn't want me to read about it in the newspaper first," Dubowik said.

Hansen wasn't available for comment Tuesday and has been placed on administrative leave. He could face a range of punishment from probation to dismissal.

"Patient privacy is a serious matter, and photographing someone in this manner without a good reason is something we will investigate down to the last detail," said Dr. Joseph Sirven, education director for Mayo Clinic Arizona, the hospital's parent organization based in Scottsdale.

Dubowik said he got the tattoo on a bet and that "it was the most horrible thing I ever went though in my life."

He said he planned to contact an attorney.

"The longer I sit here the angrier I get," he said.

FUNNY MICHAEL JACKSON CARTOON

From the NY POST:

County Tries To Stop Drag-Queen Bingo

From the Sarasota Herald Tribune:

SARASOTA - They want to see what all the hype is about.

But the 150 people who reserved a seat at tonight's drag queen bingo might not get a chance to see the drag queens call the first bingo number.

On Thursday, city officials sent Canvas Cafe owner Louis Schultz a letter warning that the upcoming bingo night cannot go on because Schultz does not have a bingo license.

The letter orders Schultz to obtain a license, a process that can take up to a month, before he holds another bingo night.

"I don't think we should be allowing it to continue if they don't have the required license," said City Attorney Robert Fournier. "There are solutions that can be worked out there. They just have to adhere to the code requirements."

What started as one resident's complaint against loud noise and profane language at the bingo night has turned into a whirlwind in this quiet, laid-back neighborhood two blocks south of Main Street.

Neighbors who were on the sidelines are now speaking out against the noise and language, saying they do not want their children hearing it.

As neighbors protest the bingo night, a wave of Sarasotans are voicing support for the risque game.

And Schultz said the show will go on. Schultz said he was out of town for the weekend and had not received the letter.

Schultz plans to tell city commissioners his side of the story at a meeting this afternoon, a few hours before the game is scheduled to begin.

Like some other area residents, Bobby and Stacy Fletcher chose to live near Towles Court because they like the artsy, creative vibe. On the streets bordering the small artists' oasis, residents know just about everything that is going on in the neighborhood.

Some say they do not mind a little live jazz or sounds drifting north from downtown on the weekend, but do not think drag queens strutting around a cafe patio and yelling off-color jokes belong in the neighborhood.

The Fletchers, who live several houses south of Canvas, are just now getting involved in the dispute. Last Monday, Bobby Fletcher called Schultz and said the loud noise was keeping his three children awake.

The couple's request is a simple one. They want the owner to turn down the volume and the drag queens to stop using profanity.

"We expect some character here," Stacy Fletcher said about living downtown, "but not something our children will take to school and get in trouble by the principal."

The feud began when Skip Dyrda, who lives in a house 20 feet away from the cafe with his wife and 7-year-old daughter, called police three times and began writing e-mails to commissioners about the loud noise and cursing.

Dyrda still does not think Schultz will listen. Two city commissioners say the city should get involved.

Schultz said he is not breaking any laws, and plans to take a stand.

He defends the bingo night event as a way to get people to Towles Court. Schultz also said he told the drag queens to stop using megaphones, which amplified their off-color jokes to houses more than a block away.

XuXu (pronounced shoo-shoo) Fontana, the drag-queen master of ceremonies at the Canvas event, said he gets people to laugh by "saying things people think but won't say."

His goal is to entertain -- not offend. And Fontana said he has never seen anyone walk away from the cafe because of one of his jokes.

Fontana expected some negative attention, but he never guessed bingo night would make an appearance on CNN.

"To me, it's mind-boggling," Fontana said. "There are mud slides, a war and a presidential campaign going on, and drag queen bingo is a problem."

Betty Madden, 76, is one of many whose curiosity was sparked by recent media reports. She stopped at the Canvas Cafe on Thursday afternoon to reserve a table for tonight's bingo.

"We want to get a group of girls together and rent a limo," Madden said.

Madden and Pat Aylmer, also 76, will have to postpone their girls' night out until next month because the cafe is completely booked for today.

Schultz said he decided last spring to bring the drag queen bingo, which got its start in the early 1990s in Seattle as a fundraising idea, to Canvas Cafe on South Links Avenue. The event benefits the Community AIDS Network.

For $10, patrons get four bingo cards and a night of colorful jokes and ribbing from three drag queens as they call the numbers.

"The people come to see them be outrageous," Schultz said. "They're not here to see Mary Poppins, although it would be funny if there was a guy being Mary Poppins in drag."

Matt Orr, one of the founders of the Young Professionals Group, is a regular at bingo night. He reserved a table for 20 at the last event.

"We have worked really hard for years to create a downtown that everyone wants to be a part of," Orr said. "Now that we have achieved that, we can't handpick which kind of noise we hear."

Woman accused of groping mall Santa

I DON'T KNOW IF I SHOULD BELIEVE THIS OR NOT.

From the NY POST:

ANBURY, Conn. (AP) -- A Danbury woman was charged with sexual assault after allegedly groping Santa Claus at the Danbury Fair mall.

Sandrama Lamy, 33, faces fourth-degree sexual assault and breach of peace charges.

Danbury police were called to the mall over the weekend. The mall Santa told them Lamy had touched him inappropriately while sitting on his lap.

"The security officer at the mall said Santa Claus has been sexually assaulted," Danbury Detective Lt. Thomas Michael said.

Lamy has been released on a promise to appear in court on Jan. 3.

A message seeking comment was left on Lamy's answering machine Tuesday morning. A woman at that number called back to say "It's a false report and I don't have any idea."

"Santa Tim" Connaghan, president of RealSantas.com, teaches hundreds of prospective Santas a year and said he's never heard of a similar incident, though it's not unusual for adults to want to pose with Santa.

"I've had some very nice ladies sit on my lap," Connaghan said. "Once in a while they'll say 'I hope Mrs. Claus isn't going to be upset.' You have to be discreet and kind and say 'Oh no, she'll be OK. You can sit here, but only for one photo.'"

A spokeswoman for Cherry Hill Photo, the company that coordinates the Santas for the mall, declined comment Tuesday.

Air Canada Passenger Tapes Mid-Flight Freak Out on Trip to Europe

Truck Driver Angered Over Ticket Tries to Tow Police Cruiser

From Foxnews.com:

PORTLAND, Ore. — A tow truck driver, upset over a recent ticket, tried to tow a Gresham police cruiser Thursday. Police said Steven Syverson, 32, was arrested after he hooked his truck to the marked police vehicle while the officer was responding to a domestic disturbance call.

The police press release said the arrest unfolded this way:

A fellow officer noticed Syverson and ordered him to release the cruiser. After some hesitation, he did.

When the other officer returned to his cruiser, Syverson got back in his tow truck, locked the doors and refused to cooperate.

Then Syverson called the police station, "apparently unsatisfied with the police response he had generated when he tried to tow a marked police vehicle."

The manager of the tow company was summoned and finally coaxed Syverson into surrendering.

Syverson was charged with unlawful use of a vehicle, obstructing governmental administration, interfering with a peace officer and criminal mischief.

HULK HOGAN WOULD LIKE TO SEE A GLADIATOR PUMMEL ROSIE O'DONNELL

From Foxnews.com:

This is one match-up you wouldn't expect to see in the ring: Hulk Hogan vs. Rosie O'Donnell.

At Thursday's press day for his new show "American Gladiators," Hogan was asked which celebrity he'd like to see a Gladiator pummel. His answer: "Without a doubt Rosie O'Donnell. Somebody needs to shut that big mouth up," TMZ reported.

O'Donnell responded in her blog, saying:

hulk hogan
the wrestler guy
wants to pummel me
isnt that sweet
and wildly odd

its like a gang of gross guys
a club almost
old dumb white and on tv

O'Donnell hosted her own daytime talk show from 1996 to 2002. She also produced a Broadway musical and founded a short-lived, namesake magazine before her tempestuous run on "The View."

Celebrity wrestler Hogan and Laila Ali co-host NBC's "American Gladiators," a revival of the '90s competition series. The new edition debuts Jan. 6.

"Things are bigger and faster," Hogan said of the show. "Now we've got water — and I wish it was shark-infested."

Hogan's wife, Linda, recently filed for divorce after 24 years of marriage, and the couple's 17-year-old son, Nick Bollea, is facing charges of reckless driving after an Aug. 26 crash in Clearwater, Fla., that left a friend critically injured.

Woman Married To 10 Men At Same Time

From Local10.com:

MIAMI -- A 26-year-old Miami woman was married to 10 men at the same time, prosecutors allege, in a marriage-for-pay scheme to enable the men to remain in the United States.

Eunice Lopez was charged with nine counts of bigamy Wednesday.

The charges say she married the men between 2002 and 2006 without divorcing any of them. In one case, she married two men in the same month.

On June 22, 2002 Lopez married Mauricio Carlo Matos as evidenced by a Certificate of Marriage filed with the Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Court on June 27, 2002.

On Aug. 11, 2003, while still married to Natos, Lopez married Jose L. Ramos. A Certificate of Marriage was filed with the clerk of the court on Aug. 19, 2003.

On March 5, 2005, while still married to Natos and Ramos, Lopez married Antonio Roberto Cordeiro. A certificate of marriage was filed with the clerk of the court on March 15, 2005.

On Nov. 5, 2005, Lopez married Humberto Navarro Suarez. A certificate of marriage was filed on Nov. 8, 2005. Lopez was still married to Natos, Ramos and Cordeiro.
Just 12 days after her marriage to Suarez, Lopez married Leandro Abelha on Nov. 17, 2005. The same day a marriage certificate was filed with the clerk of the court.

On Jan. 6, 2006, Lopez married Euclides Yepes Ceballos. There were still no divorce proceedings on file for Lopez with the clerk of the court, but a marriage certificate was issued on Jan. 9, 2006.

On May 11, 2006, Lopez married Martin Errazola Alvarez. The same day a marriage certificate was filed with the clerk of the court.

On June 2, 2006, Marco Antonio Serrano and Lopez were married. Again, on the same day, a certificate of marriage was filed with the clerk of the court.

On July 24, 2006, Diego M. Hernandez-Figueroa and Lopez were married and the same day a certificate of marriage was filed with the clerk of the court.

On Nov. 21, 2006, Lopez married Fernando Jose Urroz Leguisamo. A certificate of marriage was filed with the clerk of the court the same day.

She was held at the Women's Detention Center on $75,000 bond, but posted bond Friday morning, according to the state attorney's office.

The investigation is continuing.

THE WORST DRESSED OF 2007

CLICK HERE FOR THE "WINNERS"

Pirate Captain William Kidd's Ship Possibly Found

From Foxnews:

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A U.S. underwater archaeology team announced Thursday it has likely discovered the shattered remnants of a ship once captained by the notorious buccaneer William Kidd off a tiny Dominican Republic island.

The barnacled cannons and anchors found stacked beneath just 10 feet of crystalline coastal waters off Catalina Island are believed to be the wreckage of the Quedagh Merchant, a ship abandoned by the Scottish privateer in 1699, Indiana University researchers say.

"When I first looked down and saw it, I couldn't believe everybody missed it for 300 years," said Charles Beeker, a scuba-diving archaeologist who teaches at Indiana University. "I've been on thousands of wrecks and this is one of the first where it's been untouched by looters."

Beeker said the wreckage has been aggressively sought by treasure hunters, including a group with a permit from the Dominican government to scour Catalina for remnants of the ship, which historians believe was scavenged of treasure and burned shortly after Kidd abandoned it.

The Dominican government has licensed the U.S. university to study the wreckage and convert the sea floor where the cannons and anchors are marooned into an underwater preserve, where it will be accessible to divers and snorkelers.

"We believe this is a living museum," said Beeker, who has previously helped the Dominican government open underwater parks that feature cannons, jar fragments and other items recovered from early 18th-century shipwrecks. "The treasure in this case is the wreck itself."

The scattered cannons and anchors, partially hidden by swirling sand, were first spotted by a local man who reported his discovery to the Dominican government, according to Francis Soto, director of the National Office of Subaquatic Heritage and Culture.

The Indiana University team then examined the wreck at the request of the Caribbean country's government.

The find will likely reveal key information about piracy in the Caribbean and about the elusive Captain Kidd, according to John Foster, California's state underwater archaeologist, who will participate in the research.

"I look forward to a meticulous study of the ship, its age, its armament, its construction," Foster said. "Because there is extensive written documentation, this is an opportunity we rarely have to test historic information against the archaeological record."

Historian Richard Zacks, who wrote a book about the seafaring privateer called "The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd," said the Scotsman had captured the 500-ton Moorish ship in the Indian Ocean but left it in the Caribbean in 1699 as he traveled to New York to try and clear his name of criminal charges.

Kidd failed to convince authorities of his innocence and was hanged in 1701 in London, Zacks said. His body was suspended in a gibbet, a kind of cage, on the Thames River as a warning to other privateers.

Study: Students Who Pull All-Nighters Have Lower GPAs

From Foxnews.com:

ALBANY, N.Y. — Students who rely on all-nighters to bring up their grades might want to sleep on that strategy: a new survey says those who never study all night have slightly higher GPAs than those who do.

A survey of 120 students at St. Lawrence University, a small liberal arts college in northern New York, found that students who have never pulled an all-nighter have average GPAs of 3.1, compared to 2.9 for those who have. The study, by assistant professor of psychology Pamela Thacher, is to be included in the January issue of Behavioral Sleep Medicine.

"It's not a big difference, but it's pretty striking," Thacher said. "I am primarily a sleep researcher and I know nobody thinks clearly at 4 in the morning. You think you do, but you can't."

A second study by Thacher, a clinical psychologist, had "extremely similar" results showing lower grades among the sleep skippers.

Many college students, of course, have inadequate or irregular sleep, for reasons ranging from excessive caffeine to poor time management.

Prav Chatani, a St. Lawrence sophomore who wasn't involved in either study, said the findings made sense. The neuroscience major has been pulling fewer all-nighters, but recently stayed up until "around 4 or 5 in the morning" to prepare for an organic chemistry test and a neuroscience presentation, he said.

He found himself unable to remember some of the things he had studied.

"A lot of students were under the impression all-nighters were a very useful tool for accomplishing work, that caffeine intake was very useful in meeting deadlines and stuff like that," said Chatani, who had a 3.4 GPA last semester and doesn't expect to do too badly this semester, either.

Dr. Howard Weiss, a physician at St. Peter's Sleep Center in Albany, said the study results make sense.

"Certainly that data is out there showing that short sleep duration absolutely interferes with concentration, interferes with performance on objective testing," he said.

Some night owls do get good grades, of course, which may be explained by circadian rhythms, Weiss said. Circadian rhythms can be tracked through body temperature and hormonal transmissions.

Some people have different 24-hour body clocks than others, and may do better depending on class and testing times, Weiss said.

ChloJe LaFrance, a St. Lawrence junior from Elizabethtown majoring in psychology and English, said she's never studied all night. "If I get less than six hours of sleep I just do not function at all," she said.

LaFrance, who has about a 3.7 GPA, said she's never had a situation where she couldn't get all her work done.

"I'm in a crunch period right now," she said. "I just find I work better when I get sleep. I'm actually more productive."

In Thacher's first study, 65 students said they had pulled one or more all-nighters, and 45 said they hadn't done any. The survey was conducted in Psychology 101 classes, and included students in a variety of majors.

Oprah getting backlash from some fans for Obama support

From CNN.com:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Oprah Winfrey's recent campaign swing with Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama was greeted with wild cheers and record-breaking crowds.

But some of the talk show host's fans aren't happy she's become politically outspoken, and many are sounding off on Oprah's Web site.

"Oprah," says one, "count me as tuned out for now." Another writes, "It's a real turn off for a lot of your fans." And yet another says "She has crossed a line and lost my trust completely."

But, what's especially interesting about reading Oprah's Web site is why some of those fans seem to be upset: the way she stumped for Obama, they say, seemed to pit white against black.

"I've been inspired to believe that a new vision is possible for America,"
Oprah said while on the stump with Obama in South Carolina. "Dr. King dreamed the dream, we get to vote that dream into reality."

Back on Oprah's Web site, one commenter wrote, "Winfrey has artfully begun her stump speeches alongside Obama with a negative racial tone."

And another commenter wrote, "Don't pit blacks against whites."

Interviewed on ABC's Good Morning America Wednesday, Winfrey rejected the notion she is supporting Obama merely because he is black.

"I get a little..I guess the word is 'offended,'" Winfrey said. "To think that I would be supporting someone just because of their skin would mean we haven't moved far from Dr. King's speech in 1963, where he said we should be judged by the content of our character not the color of their skin."

In another interview, Winfrey told CNN that she weighed carefully whether she should get involved in politics, wondering whether she would "lose viewers as a result."

"I made the decision that I have the right to do it as an American citizen," she said.

– CNN's Carol Costello

MARCIA CROSS NAKED

I guess the "Desperate Housewives" star decided it's a good idea to take nude photos.
Supposedly these pics were found in the trash and are now leaked.

Click here for the photos.

FUNNY NEW YORK KNICKS CARTOON

From the NY POST:

Feds Raid Al Sharpton Offices, Subpoena Financial Records, Employees

From Foxnews.com:

NEW YORK — Federal authorities have subpoenaed financial records and employees in an apparent probe of the Rev. Al Sharpton's 2004 presidential bid, nonprofit civil rights group, and for-profit businesses, a newspaper reported Thursday.

As many as 10 Sharpton associates were subpoenaed Wednesday to testify before a federal grand jury in Brooklyn Dec. 26, his lawyer told the Daily News.

They were told to provide investigators with financial records from the campaign and roughly six Sharpton-related businesses, as well as personal financial documents of Sharpton and his wife, the newspaper said.

The FBI and Internal Revenue Service are seeking the records, which go back to 2001, according to the Daily News.

A Sharpton spokeswoman did not immediately return phone calls or e-mail messages early Thursday.

An FBI agent who answered the phone at the agency's New York headquarters declined to comment, and an agency spokesman did not immediately return a telephone message. An IRS spokesman did not immediately return phone calls.

"It was like a sting or a raid," said Carl Redding, Sharpton's chief of staff for eight years during the 1990s. "They converged on everybody."

Redding said FBI agents awoke him at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday with a subpoena to testify and to bring records to the grand jury, but would not tell him the reason for the investigation.

Several staffers from the National Action Network, a Sharpton-led civil rights organization, also got subpoenas to testify, said Sharpton lawyer Michael Hardy. Sharpton himself did not receive a subpoena, the Daily News said.

Sharpton spokesman Charlie King said the minister and the National Action Network were cooperating with the probe. Hardy was sanguine about the developments.

"I can't think of a time when the Rev. Sharpton wasn't under investigation," he said.

Sharpton agreed in 2005 to repay the government $100,000, plus interest, for taxpayer money he received during his failed effort to win the Democratic presidential nomination the year before, though he denied wrongdoing.

The Federal Election Commission had determined that he spent more of his own money on the campaign than the qualifications for federal matching funds allow.

In 1993, Sharpton pleaded guilty to not filing a state income tax return in 1986.

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Caught With Burglary Tools, 2 Men Say They Were Fixing Toilet

From FOXNEWS.COM:

APPLETON, Wis. — A police officer didn't buy the story offered by two men who were seen in the early morning hours, walking out from behind a local restaurant that was burglarized the night before.

The officer found they had some interesting gear with them — channel-lock pliers, a screwdriver, other tools and a flashlight.

No problem, they told the officer, explaining they were going to help a friend fix a toilet.

But the officer said they couldn't give a last name, phone number or address for the friend.

The two men, one 19 and the other 18, wound up booked into Outagamie County Jail on Wednesday for possession of tools that could be used for burglary.

According to police, the officer also found a large crowbar stuck in a snow bank and footprints in the snow leading to back doors of several businesses.

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Wal-Mart Yanks Pink 'Credit Card' Panties Off Shelves

From FoxNews.com:

Suggestive pink Santa panties targeting young girls are being removed from Wal-Mart stores after parents objected to the offensive undergarments.

The panties, which were sold in the juniors department, seemed to suggest that girls don't need money, they just need a sugar daddy — in this case Santa Claus.

The hipster briefs — carrying the slogan "Who needs credit cards ..." on the front and "When you have Santa" on the derriere — caused an uproar among parents, who called for the $2.96 drawers to be pulled off the racks.

"We have directed our stores to remove this merchandise from our shelves," Linda Brown Blakely, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, told FOXNews.com Wednesday.

The undergarments had caused a stir on some blogs prior to Wednesday's announcement. Scarlett, a reader of Feministing.com, alerted the blog to the holiday-inspired undies, which she found on a rack in the juniors department of a Wal-Mart in Cary, N.C.

"There's nothing quite like telling adolescent girls that they don't need to worry about finances since they have their very own moneypot between their legs," Jessica Valenti, the executive editor of Feministing.com, wrote on the panty blog post.

Scarlett was so incensed by the message on the front of the panties, she didn't even see the Santa kicker in the rear, she wrote on the blog.

"I still think that the entire thing is messed up. This isn't just a cute T-shirt that says 'Just ask Santa,'" she wrote. "This is a pair of panties. Exactly how nice to Santa would the girl have to be in order to get stuff?"

Lock of John Lennon's hair sells for $48,000

From Yahoo News:

LONDON - Imagine that. A lock of John Lennon's hair sold for $48,000 Wednesday in an auction of Beatles' memorabilia collected by the band's hairdresser.

The hair — inside an autographed copy of Lennon's book "A Spaniard in the Works" — sold to an unnamed telephone bidder.

Gorringes auction house had estimated the hair would sell for $4,000 to $6,000.

Lennon gave the book and the lock of hair to Betty Glasow, the Fab Four's hairdresser during their heyday. He wrote in the book, "To Betty, Lots of Love and Hair, John Lennon xx."

"It is astonishing that there is still so much interest in the Beatles and the sale goes to prove that John Lennon is still an icon," said Francesca Collin, a spokeswoman for Gorringes.

"To have some of Lennon's hair along with a signed note from him really does give it fantastic provenance and authenticity," Collin said.

Glasow, who kept the Beatles' moptops trimmed on the set of their films "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!" in the 1960s, decided to sell the items because she wanted fans to have them, said Nick Muston, a director of the auction house.

"She feels that rather than these things being stuck in a drawer with nobody enjoying them, real enthusiasts (could) get their hands on these things," Muston said.

Other items sold at the auction in Worthing included signed photographs of the band dedicated to Glasow, including one that George Harrison signed "George "Dandruff" Harrison." It sold for $13,000.

MARION JONES STRIPPED OF MEDALS, BANNED FROM BEIJING OLYMPICS

From ESPN.com:

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The IOC formally stripped Marion Jones of her five Olympic medals Wednesday, wiping her name from the record books following her admission that she was a drug cheat.

The International Olympic Committee also banned the disgraced American athlete from attending next year's Beijing Olympics in any capacity and said it could bar her from future games.

Jones had already handed back the three gold medals and two bronze she won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Last month, the International Association of Athletics Federations erased all of Jones' results dating to September 2000, but it was up to the IOC to formally disqualify her and take away her Olympic medals.

"She is disqualified and scrapped from the results,'' IOC president Jacques Rogge said at the close of a three-day executive board meeting.

"It was an easy decision,'' added IOC vice president Thomas Bach, a German lawyer who headed a three-member disciplinary panel in the case. "The facts were clear.''

Jones won gold medals in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 1,600-meter relay in Sydney, and bronze in the long jump and 100-meter relay. She was the first female track and field athlete to win five medals at a single Olympics.

After long denying she ever had used performance-enhancing drugs, Jones admitted in federal court in October that she started using steroids before the Sydney Games. She said she'd used the designer steroid "the clear'' from September 2000 to July 2001.

In addition to stripping her Sydney medals, the IOC disqualified Jones from her fifth-place finish in the long jump at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The IOC postponed a decision on redistributing her medals, including whether to strip her eight American relay teammates and whether to upgrade doping-tainted Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou to gold in the 100.

Rogge said the IOC had initiated the process for removing the relay teams' medals, but would give the runners a chance to state their case at a hearing. He said the athletes would be represented by the U.S. Olympic Committee, even though the body has already said the relays were tainted and the medals should be returned.

Rogge said he expects the relay medal issue to be resolved at the next executive board meeting in Beijing in April.

"Should the IOC decide to disqualify the teams, it would be a consequence of the doping offense of Miss Jones and not the consequence of any faults committed by other members,'' Rogge said.

The U.S. 1,600-relay team included Jearl-Miles Clark, Monique Hennagan, LaTasha Colander-Richardson and Andrea Anderson. Chryste Gaines, Torri Edwards, Nanceen Perry and Passion Richardson were on the 400-relay squad.

Jamaica took silver behind the United States in the 1,600 relay. Russia was third and Nigeria fourth. In the 400 relay, France was fourth behind the Americans.

The executive board also declared Jones ineligible for the Beijing Games "not only as an athlete but also in any other capacity.''

Jones has retired as an athlete and is banned by U.S. officials from competition for two years. But the IOC wants to keep her from going to the Olympics as a coach or in any other role, and said she could face a lifetime Olympic ban pending the outcome of the BALCO investigation.

"The issue has been damaging for Miss Jones, that goes without saying,'' Rogge said. "I still think that this is a good thing for the fight against doping. The more athletes we can catch, the more credible we are, the more deterrent effect we will have and the more we are going to protect clean athletes.''

Jones' doping admission came as part of her guilty plea to lying to federal investigators in the BALCO case about using steroids. She will be sentenced on Jan. 11 and is expected to face a term of between three and six months.

Jones becomes the fourth American athlete in Olympic history to have a medal taken away by the IOC, and the third for a doping offense.

Jerome Young was stripped of his 1,600-meter relay gold from the Sydney Games for an earlier doping violation; swimmer Rick DeMont lost his gold in the 400-meter freestyle from the 1972 Munich Games after testing positive for a banned substance in his asthma medication, and Jim Thorpe was stripped of his pentathlon and decathlon gold medals in 1912 when it was revealed he earned $25 a week playing minor league baseball. The IOC reinstated Thorpe in 1982 and returned his medals to his children the following year.

The reshuffling of Jones' medals could affect the medal status of more than three dozen other athletes.

IOC officials said they need more details from the ongoing BALCO probe to determine whether any other Olympic athletes were linked to the scandal.

There is reluctance among some IOC officials to upgrade Thanou, who finished second behind Jones in the 100. Thanou later served a two-year ban after failing to show for drug tests in the leadup to the 2004 Athens Olympics.

One option under consideration is leaving the gold medal spot vacant.

The bronze medalist in the 100 in Sydney was Tanya Lawrence, with fellow Jamaican Merlene Ottey fourth.


In the 200, Pauline Davis-Thompson of the Bahamas took the silver behind Jones. Sri Lanka's Susanthika Jayasinghe was third and Jamaica's Beverly McDonald fourth.

U.S. Refuses 'Any Wounded Soldier' Mail

From FoxNews.com:

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Hundreds of thousands of holiday cards and letters thanking wounded American troops for their sacrifice and wishing them well never reach their destination. They are returned to sender or thrown away unopened.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks and the anthrax scare, the Pentagon and the Postal Service have refused to deliver mail addressed simply to "Any Wounded Soldier" for fear terrorists or opponents of the war might send toxic substances or demoralizing messages.

Mail must be addressed to a specific member of the armed forces -- a rule that pains some well-meaning Americans this Christmas season.

"Are we going to forget our soldiers because we are running in fear?" Fena D'Ottavio asked. The suburban Chicago woman was using her blog to encourage friends to send mail to unspecified soldiers until she learned of the ban, which she called a sad commentary on society.

Last season, despite the rule, officials say as many as 450,000 pieces of mail not addressed to anyone in particular managed to reach Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. But they were returned or, if they had no return address, were thrown out altogether, because the hospital lacked the manpower to open and screen all the mail, spokesman Terry Goodman said.

"A lot of this is because of security concerns because it's unsolicited mail that someone is going to have to go through," Goodman said. "Also, being a democratic society, there could be inappropriate mail from someone who, say, doesn't support the war, and then you've got a wounded soldier getting it."

Lt. Col. Kevin Arata, a spokesman with the Army Human Resources Command, said no one tracks the amount of unnamed-soldier mail being returned, so it is impossible to judge the size of the problem.

The busiest part of the holiday season has yet to arrive, but officials said they are receiving far less mail this year addressed simply to "A Recovering American Soldier" or "Any Wounded Soldier."

Candy Roquemore of Austin, Texas, was also promoting the idea of sending cards to wounded soldiers until she found out about the rule. She suggested the ban is an overreaction.

"I think there are some wackos who might do something, so I can understand that. But I think with a Christmas postcard it would be pretty easy to see it doesn't have anthrax in it," Roquemore said.

She added: "I just wanted to say, `Thank you, sorry you're hurt, and happy holidays."'

USO spokesman John Hanson said that like the military, the nonprofit service organization does not deliver unopened mail to unspecified recipients. He said the USO worries about security as well as hateful messages from war critics.

"We just want to make sure it's not, `Die, baby killer,"' he said. "There are people out there who act irrationally, and we don't want anyone to get a message that would be discouraging."

The USO is one of the organizations the military is encouraging people to support with donations as an alternative to sending cards to unspecified soldiers. The military is also referring people to the American Red Cross and a Defense Department Web site where supporters have posted thousands of messages to troops.

Some groups are offering to forward mail to the troops. Aides to Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., are offering to accept letters, screen them through the U.S. Capitol mail operation, and get them to members of the armed forces.

"We've had about a dozen complaints from constituents about returned mail that they sent to troops," said Steven Boyd, a Sessions spokesman.

------

Ex-Cop Drew Peterson Launches Web Site for Defense Fund After Wife Disappears

From FoxNews.com:

CHICAGO — Drew Peterson, a suspect in his 23-year-old wife's disappearance, wants the public to help fund his legal defense.

The former Bolingbrook, Ill., police sergeant launched a Web site Tuesday seeking donations to help pay his legal fees, as well as pay for a private investigator to search for his wife, Stacy Peterson, who has been missing since Oct. 28.

"For the cost of a few cups of your morning coffee, you can help to ensure that Drew can afford to support his ongoing legal defense, find his missing wife and divert any remaining funds into a trust for his children," the Web site says.

But Stacy Peterson's family believes the site is just a ploy to get money, not to help find the mother of two.

"What will this man do next?" Pamela Bosco, a spokeswoman for Stacy Peterson's family, told FOXNews.com. "It's all part of his plan. He's a very manipulative man; he has been all the way."

The site, DefendDrew.com, offers several options for donation amounts, ranging from $5 to $250.

Click here to visit Drew Peterson's Web site.

Officials have named Drew Peterson a suspect in Stacy Peterson's disappearance, but he has not been arrested or charged. Bosco said she believes it's just a matter of time before he's in handcuffs.

"Drew obviously had something to do with Stacy's disappearance," Bosco said. "What he did with her, we have no idea."

Stacy Peterson was reported missing after she failed to show up at a friend's house. Her 53-year-old husband says she left him for another man, but Stacy Peterson's family says she would never leave her children behind.

Any money collected for Drew Peterson's defense fund will go first to legal fees and hiring a private investigator to find Stacy Peterson, said Joel Brodsky, Drew Peterson's attorney. Any remaining funds will go to a trust fund for the Petersons' children.

“If you believe that a person should be able to defend themselves properly, then Drew needs a hand,” Brodsky said. “If we don’t get a hand, then there’s going to be a fairly weak defense.”

He said Drew Peterson needs help to fund his defense against the hundreds of investigators working the case against him.

“Do you believe that somebody should be steamrolled because this case has become a media sensation, or do you believe that everybody should have a fair shot, that there should be an equal playing field?” Brodsky asked.

The Web site says that Drew and his four children, two of whom are from a previous marriage, need help.

"Drew and his children should not have to lose everything accumulated in thirty years of public service," it says on the site. "Drew and his children risk losing their life savings, house, automobiles and may end up impoverished, all by simply defending himself against allegations."

Meanwhile, a team of FBI special agents, Illinois State Police and other law enforcement authorities are searching canals for any signs of Stacy Peterson.

Bosco said she did not know what specific clues led officials to search the area. There is a lot of debris in the water, and search teams are awaiting sonar equipment for a more extensive search.

There is a $25,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest in Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

Rudy Giuliani Says He Wished He Could Have Deported All Illegal Immigrants

From FoxNews.com:

WASHINGTON — Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani — whose GOP rivals have been hammering him for weeks, accusing him of running a "sanctuary city" friendly to illegal immigrants — now says he wanted to depart all 400,000 of them from New York City, but federal officials' incompetence made him tailor policy friendly to immigrants.

"If they could [have deported them], I would have have turned all the people over. It would have helped me. I would have had a smaller population. I would have had fewer problems," Giuliani said in an interview given for an upcoming book.

Click here to read the excerpt from, "Meet the Next President," published in The (Washington, D.C.) Examiner.

Giuliani has faced heavy criticism from his more conservative rivals along the campaign trail for a number of moderate positions he has taken on immigration, homosexuality and abortion.

With respect to immigration, Giuliani in 1994 said: "Some of the hardest-working and most productive people in this city are undocumented aliens. ... If you come here and you work hard and you happen to be in an undocumented status, you're one of the people who we want in this city. You're somebody that we want to protect, and we want you to get out from under what is often a life of being like a fugitive."

In the interview, Giuliani laid blame on the U.S. immigration system, saying that the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service — now Immigration and Customs Enforcement — was unable to handle the crush of deportation referrals made by city law enforcement. Given that, he said, he was left with a population that could either be marginalized or put under the law.

"My objective was to make New York City safe," Giuliani told author Bill Sammon.

McDonald's in England Fines Customers Who Take Too Long to Eat

From the guardian.com:

The question of just how long it should take to eat fast food is being answered by the burger giant McDonald's, which is making customers finish within 45 minutes or face a charge of £125.

Motorists who care to linger over their McMeals for any longer at some drive-throughs are receiving demands from a private company that manages car parks for the burger chain.

If they do not pay, the fee rises steadily and customers are threatened with court action and approached by bailiffs. A spokeswoman for McDonald's said the 45-minute restrictions had been introduced at about 40 restaurants because car parks were being abused. She said signs explaining the policy were displayed and leaflets given out.

Many supermarkets and restaurants are handing over the management of their car parks to companies which use number plate recognition cameras to log when people enter and leave.

If they stay too long, the details of the registered keeper of the vehicle are obtained from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), and he or she is billed. An elderly Wiltshire couple were recently berated by Tesco after taking too long to do their Christmas shopping at the supermarket.

The company that manages McDonald's car parks, Civil Enforcement, also works with a string of other blue-chip companies. BP used it until recently to monitor some of its petrol station forecourts.

One motorist, Jamie Thomson, told the Guardian of his experience at a McDonald's near Gatwick: "I ordered a burger, chips, a doughnut, coke and coffee. I sat in my car eating my lunch, and listening to the radio. After eating, I continued to sip my coffee for a time, and ate my doughnut. Then I left. All perfectly normal." He says he was in his car for about an hour.

Several weeks later, he received a letter from Civil Enforcement demanding £125, or £75 if the charge was paid quickly. At first Thomson, a businessman from Sussex, did not even realise that he was being charged for spending too long at McDonald's, as the notice gave only a partial address.

When he remembered his visit to McDonald's, Thomson asked Civil Enforcement for photographic proof of his "offence", but was told he would have to pay for a photo. He contacted the DVLA to ask how Civil Enforcement had obtained his details, and was told the DVLA releases data to bodies which have "reasonable cause" to ask for it.

McDonald's told Thomson that the use of "enforcement methods" happened only in "extreme" circumstances. The company added: "At this restaurant we have stipulated that a member of the public may be parked for 45 minutes unless permission is given to stay longer by the duty manager."

McDonald's in effect washed its hands of the charge, saying it had been imposed by Civil Enforcement and the burger giant did not profit from it.

Thomson's charge has risen to £213. He has been threatened with court action and received a letter from a debt collection company. He said that neither he nor any member of his family would eat at the chain again.

Civil Enforcement operates more than 700 car parks, and says it issues a "considerable number" of parking tickets every year. Its founder, Gary Wayne, argued its "hi-tech approach" was "less confrontational than clamping and towing".

PASTOR: COP TOLD FOURTH WIFE HE KILLED THIRD WIFE

From CNN.com:
BOLINGBROOK, Illinois (AP) -- A former police officer's missing wife once confided in a pastor that her husband admitted killing his third wife, the pastor said.

Former Westbrook Christian Church pastor Neil Schori told Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren in an interview broadcast Monday that Stacy Peterson told him in August that her husband, Drew Peterson, admitted killing his previous wife, Kathleen Savio.

Schori said he asked Stacy Peterson, Drew Peterson's fourth wife, to clarify what she had said and she responded, "'He killed Kathleen."' Schori said the conversation occurred when he and Stacy Peterson met at a coffee shop.

Savio's body was found in her bathtub in 2004 and her death initially was ruled an accidental drowning. After Stacy Peterson disappeared in October, prosecutors opened another investigation into the Savio case, and said it appears her death was a homicide staged to look like an accident. Drew Peterson has not been named a suspect in her death.

Stacy Peterson offered enough detail to be credible, said Schori, who declined to discuss the details in the interview.

"But it was very clear that this was not just speculation," he said. "She was not jumping to conclusions."

Joel Brodsky, Peterson's attorney, did not immediately return an after-hours phone message seeking comment from The Associated Press. But he said on the Fox program that "I'd love to get to cross-examine (Schori) because there are a lot of problems with his story."

Schori said he thought Stacy Peterson never shared the information about Savio with police. Asked why Stacy Peterson chose to stay with her husband after learning about his former wife's death, Schori said, "My guess would be out of fear."

Although he has not been arrested or charged, Drew Peterson, 53, has been named a suspect in Stacy Peterson's disappearance by Illinois State Police, who have labeled the case a possible homicide.

Stacy Peterson was last seen October 28 and was reported missing by her family the next day. Drew Peterson, a member of the Bolingbrook Police Department until he quit after his wife went missing, has denied any involvement in her disappearance. He has said he believes his wife left him for another man and is alive.

Last month, the Westbrook Christian Church's pastor of spiritual formation told The Associated Press that Stacy Peterson requested an August meeting with a member of their pastoral staff when the church made a routine call to see why she and Drew Peterson had not attended services in recent months.

The church official made a "judgment call" not to alert authorities and did not consult with other church staff, Rob Daniels said.

At the time he spoke to the AP, Daniels would not identify the clergy member who met with Stacy Peterson or say where the meeting took place. E-mail to a friend

DREW PETERSON'S FACE PLASTERED ON A PINATA

From the Chicago Tribune:Apparently, it's not easy being Drew.

Drew Peterson said Thursday he would rather be remembered for something positive than something that would result in his picture being plastered on a pinata.

That creation was on display Saturday at a prayer vigil held for Peterson's wife, Stacy, 23, who vanished Oct. 28. Illinois State Police soon named Peterson, 53, a suspect in the case, which has been labeled a possible homicide.

Since then, Peterson, an ex-Bolingbrook police sergeant, has become infamous.

"I'd rather be a celebrity for something good," Peterson said. "They snuck me in and out for the 'Today' show. I remember sitting in the New York airport, and all of a sudden there was my face on TV."

In a telephone interview Thursday, Peterson talked about why he wouldn't join searches or vigils for his missing wife, and about the friends and former police colleagues who now shun him. He has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.

"It's like they had this vigil for Stacy, and the next thing you know there's a pinata with my face on it," he said. "All these policemen who were my friends, and I would have jumped in front of a bullet for, don't even talk to me."

Peterson has not participated in any searches since his wife disappeared and has contended she ran off with another man.

On Thursday, his former friend, Ric Mims, acknowledged selling his story to the National Enquirer.

Earlier in the day, Mims appeared before a special grand jury investigating the Stacy Peterson case.

Peterson chalked up Mims' deal with the Enquirer as just another moment of "et tu Brute?"

"I've befriended him, he was just some street kid ... and all of a sudden he was here -- my best friend," he said. "I went ahead and let him watch the house when I couldn't be here, and then he's changing sides."

Peterson claimed Mims has been looking for a way to profit since Stacy disappeared.

"The first couple days after this happened, he kept saying, 'How can we make money on this?'" he said.

Mims scoffed at the allegation. He said it was his cell phone bill and big heart that motivated him to talk to the Enquirer. Mims said he would pay his $480 phone bill, most of which came from talking to reporters, then donate the proceeds to the Benefit for Stacy Peterson charity, which will fund the ongoing search.

"I have not profited from this. This whole thing has cost me money," he said.

He wouldn't say how much the Enquirer paid him. Mims also declined to discuss the grand jury investigation.

Should that investigation lead to charges, Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, said any alleged evidence from Peterson's vehicles may be tossed out by a judge on the grounds it was illegally seized. Peterson's vehicles were towed Nov. 1, when the first search warrant was executed. But, according to copies of the warrants, the first one authorized only the search -- not the seizure -- of the vehicles.

Brodsky said investigators tried to rectify their mistake in a warrant served Tuesday by including language that authorized seizure of the vehicles, which remain in police custody.

Richard Kling, a clinical professor of law at Chicago Kent with nearly four decades of criminal defense experience, said while there are reams of case law stating items need not be searched where they are found, Brodsky's argument could have merit.

"The 4th Amendment and the cases that interpret it say that in order for a search and seizure to be valid, the premise to be searched and the things to be seized have to be specified with particularity, other than those things which are in plain view, such as contraband," Kling said. "He may have a point that the first search warrant is problematic because it didn't describe that the cars were able to be seized."

After reviewing copies of the search warrants, Kling said it appears investigators pieced together a detailed theory about how Stacy Peterson's body could have been disposed of.

"It's pretty clear that either somebody from the police has come up with this wonderful hypothesis about how the car was used, the body disposed of, or they have witnesses who are giving them what they believe is credible information [and are] looking for specific items," Kling said.

Some categories were broadened in each subsequent search warrant, and others were more narrowly defined. One example is a section in the second warrant authorizing seizure of "chemicals or chemical containers having the quality to dissolve biological evidence, caustic in nature, or having the qualities of a preservative." In the latest warrant, the language was changed to "objects with chemical traces relating to pool chemicals or any chemical which might be utilized to either retard, mask or accelerate the deterioration or decomposition of a human body."

"You have to assume that the judge is not issuing warrants on somebody's fantasy conjecture," Kling said. "You have to assume that the judge knows the law, and that if he's issuing warrants, they're based on specific information."

When Peterson was asked Thursday about going from cop doing the investigating to being investigated, he said: "I gotta go now. It's very ugly being on the other side."

BARRY BONDS PLEADS NOT GUILTY

From ESPN.com:

SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds pleaded not guilty Friday to charges he lied to federal investigators about whether he used performance enhancing drugs.

The home run king's arraignment in U.S. District Court marked his first public appearance since a Nov. 15 indictment charging him with four counts of perjury and one of obstruction of justice.

Bail was set at $500,000. Prosecutors also asked the court to restrict Bonds' travel to the United States.

If he's convicted of all five charges Bonds could spend more than two years in prison.

Wearing a dark blue suit and tie and accompanied by his wife, Bonds stepped from a black sport-utility vehicle and waded through a crush of television cameras, reporters and onlookers outside the Phillip Burton Federal Building. He went through the metal detectors and waved to the crowd before stepping into the courthouse elevator and heading to the 19th-floor for the hearing.

Television satellite trucks lined the streets around the courthouse -- some having staked out a spot more than 20 hours before. San Francisco Giants fans joined reporters and other spectators, who presumably hoped to catch a glimpse of Bonds upon his arrival.

A 43-year-old travel agent from Sacramento was holding a broomstick with a witch costume hanging from it. He carried a sign welcoming the crowd to what he called a George Mitchell "witchhunt," referring to the baseball steroids investigator.

Across from the courthouse, a giant marquee reading "Say it ain't so, Barry," hung from a tire store.

MOM GETS PROBATION FOR TRYING TO SELL 4-YEAR OLD SON

From Foxnews.com:

DAVENPORT, Iowa — A Davenport woman received five years of probation Thursday for attempting to sell her 4-year-old son to help pay for a wedding dress.

Marcy Gant, 32, was convicted in October of purchase or sale of an individual and could have been sentenced up to 10 years in prison.

Gant was arrested in October 2006 after offering her son to a retailer to settle a $200 bill for the dress. Police said Gant offered the trade at least twice.

Gant's sons, ages 4 and 10 at the time, have been removed from the home by Iowa Department of Human Services.

Prosecutor Julie Walton requested prison time for Gant, citing "out-of-control behavior" fueled by alcoholism.

Lauren Phelps, Gant's attorney, requested probation.

"She's making better choices," Phelps said, saying she is keeping in touch with her children and maintaining a stable residence. "She's doing things she needs to do."

Gant will have to follow several special provisions, including bans on alcohol and contacting the prosecution's main witness in the case. Gant also will have to submit to random tests for drugs and alcohol, follow the advice of mental health professionals and attend two Alcoholics Anonymous meetings a week, Scott County District Judge James Kelley ruled.

Gant could be sent to prison for up to 10 years if she violates the order.

BOARD GAMES HELPED FREE POWs

From Cnn.com:

Park Place, Boardwalk, and a hidden map with a secret escape route? For Allied POWs during World War II, Monopoly® games came equipped with real-life "get out of jail free" cards.

During World War II, the British secret service hatched a master plan to smuggle escape gear to captured Allied soldiers inside Germany. Their secret weapon? Monopoly boxes.

The original notion was simple enough: Find a way to sneak useful items into prison camps in an unassuming form. But the idea to use Monopoly came from a series of happy coincidences, all of which started with maps.

Maps are harder to smuggle than you might think. They fall apart when wet, and they make a lot of noise when unfolded. Allied officials feared paper maps might draw the attention of German troops, so they turned to an unlikely source for help -- silk. Not only would silk maps hold up in all kinds of weather, but they'd also come with the life-saving benefit of being whisper quiet.

To produce these silent maps, the Brits turned to John Waddington Ltd., a company that had recently perfected the process of printing on silk and was already manufacturing silk escape maps for British airmen to carry. What else was Waddington known for? You guessed it -- being the licensed manufacturer of Monopoly outside the United States.

Suddenly, the popular board game seemed like the perfect way to get supplies inside German-run POW camps. At the time, the Nazis were hard-pressed to get provisions to their own troops, much less to the Allied soldiers they'd captured.

Wishing to hide this less-than-stellar upholding of the Geneva Convention, they happily welcomed Red Cross aid packages for POWs. So throwing Monopoly games into the care kits along with food and clothing was met with little scrutiny. Monopoly was already a well-known game throughout Europe, and the German guards saw it as the perfect way for their detainees to remain occupied for hours.

In 1941, the British Secret Service approached Waddington with its master plan, and before long, production of a "special edition" Monopoly set was underway. For the top-secret mission, the factory set aside a small, secure room -- unknown to the rest of its employees -- where skilled craftsmen sat and painstakingly carved small niches and openings into the games' cardboard boxes.

Along with the standard thimble, car, and Scotty dog, the POW version included additional "playing" pieces, such as a metal file, a magnetic compass, and of course, a regional silk escape map, complete with marked safe-houses along the way -- all neatly concealed in the game's box.

Even better, some of the Monopoly money was real. Actual German, Italian, and French currency was placed underneath the play money for escapees to use for bribes.

Also, because of its collaboration with the International Red Cross, Waddington could track which sets would be delivered to which camps, meaning escape maps specific to the area could be hidden in each game set. Allied soldiers and pilots headed to the front lines were told to look for the special edition game if they were captured. The identifying mark to check for? A red dot in the corner of the Free Parking space.

By the end of the war, it's estimated that more than 35,000 Allied POWs had escaped from German prison camps. And while there's no way to set an exact figure on it, more than a few of those escapees certainly owe their breakout to the classic board game.

But despite its brave and noble role in all of it, Monopoly's heroic war deeds would go unrecognized for decades. Strict secrecy about the plan was maintained during the war, not only so that the British could continue using the game to help POWs, but also because Waddington feared a targeted reprisal by German bombers.

After the war, all remaining sets were destroyed, and everyone involved in the plan, including the escaped prisoners, were told to keep quiet. In the event of another large-scale war, Allied officials also wanted to make sure the seemingly innocent board game could go back into action.

Believe it or not, it wasn't long before Monopoly found itself in the middle of yet another international conflict -- this time defending itself from Communist leaders in Russia.

Being that Monopoly is essentially a game in which one player gets rich at the expense of others becoming poor, Soviet officials had long seen the board game as an overt symbol of capitalistic frivolity and greed. So, as its popularity soared, Communists took more and more efforts to curb the enthusiasm.

Cuba, the U.S.S.R., and other Eastern Bloc countries outlawed the game for fear it would corrupt the public with positive notions about a free-market economy. Soviet leaders even tried coming up with their own Marxist-themed spin-off games designed to highlight the virtues of frugality. The title of one such knockoff from Communist-era Hungary loosely translated to "Save," while another in Russia had a name that roughly meant "Manage."

But bans and spin-offs couldn't hold down the individualistic drive of the human spirit. Monopoly became an underground success, secretly coveted and played behind the Iron Curtain as a way of escaping the drudgery of Soviet life. It wasn't until 1987, four years before the collapse of the Soviet Union, that Monopoly was allowed to be legally sold there.

Today, Monopoly is licensed in more than 80 countries, and no fewer than 200 spin-off versions exist. Of course, playing it in the cozy confines of your living room, it's easy to take for granted that there was a time when, to many, Monopoly was a lot more than just a game