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Woman swallows money to defy robbers A Peruvian woman has swallowed the equivalent of £450 in cash to avoid being robbed by a gang. Marleny Villa was on a bus travelling to Tacna, south of the capital Lima, when a gang boarded the bus. The Terra Noticias Populares says the 35-year-old rolled all the notes up individually and swallowed them one by one. After the robbery Villa was taken to the nearby town of Cocachacra to have her stomach pumped. A police spokesperson said: "She is one brave, crazy person, but fortunately it turned out well and she will get...

Hacking Confessed to Brothers, Father Says By PAUL FOY ASSOCIATED PRESS SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Mark Hacking confessed to two older brothers that he killed his wife as she slept and then put the body in a trash bin, their father said Thursday. Hacking, confronted with evidence he had something to do with his wife's disappearance, and overwhelmed by the volunteer effort to find her, made the confession when his brothers Scott and Lance visited him at a psychiatric ward July 24, the father, Douglas Hacking, said. "He decided the time was right - he had better let authorities...

Victoria Secret's Gender Descrimination Aug 4, 2004 9:43 am US/Mountain It's unbelievable that in this day and age you could walk into any store and be denied a service just because you’re a man! But that's exactly what happened to two men who went to a Victoria’s Secret store in Murray with a free product offer, so they decided to “Get Gephardt.” Here's the offer! Free cotton underwear for the bearer of this promotional ad and you can bring up to six of your friends and they all receive free panties! So when one woman took five friends with her,...

Sex Shop Claims Job Applicant Stole Toy Wed Aug 4, 8:47 PM ET DECATUR, Ala. - A sex shop planned to file an arrest warrant for a woman who allegedly left the store without paying for a toy but who left a good lead on how to find her: She had just filled out a job application. "I thought, that is a classic case of dumb-crook news," said Jamie Hudgins, a sales clerk at Pleasures. She said the 22-year-old Decatur woman entered the store with two friends at 12:30 p.m. Monday, completed a job application and browsed the store before...

Postman Kept 21,000 Letters Undelivered 34 minutes ago Add Oddly Enough - KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian postman kept 21,000 letters undelivered for up to four years in a room of his house, newspapers said Thursday. Police were now searching for the missing man. The former employee of Pos Malaysia Bhd, fired in March, left mail such as telephone bills, bank statements and magazines in a room of a house in which he once lived in a Kuala Lumpur suburb. Some of the letters were four years old. "Most of our postmen are dedicated and loyal but there are...

OKLAHOMA CITY - An Oklahoma ice cream man opened fire on a customer after a summer ice cream sale turned sour, police said on Tuesday. Police in Enid, about 75 miles north of Oklahoma City, said they arrested Markus Miller, 29, an ice cream truck driver for Summer Song, on Sunday on two misdemeanor charges as well as a felony charge of pointing a firearm. If convicted, Miller could receive up to 10 years in jail on the felony charge. According to police, an 18-year-old woman approached Miller's ice cream truck and the conversation degenerated into a heated argument. Miller...

Undercover Pooch Helps Nab Alleged Insurance Fraud Ring Chiropractors Allegedly Bill For Services On Dog POSTED: 5:15 pm PDT August 3, 2004 UPDATED: 6:43 pm PDT August 3, 2004 CARMICHAEL, Calif. -- Investigators say they've cracked a huge insurance fraud ring that included a couple of Sacramento-area chiropractors who were allegedly billing thousands of dollars for bogus treatments. On Tuesday, authorities said they had a secret weapon in the case -- an undercover agent that wagged its tail and could fake a limp on command. Patients showing up at a Carmichael chiropractic clinic Tuesday were surprised to find a note...

Today: August 04, 2004 at 6:32:45 PDT Grade School Teacher Who Had Sex With Child Released By REBECCA COOK ASSOCIATED PRESS GIG HARBOR, Wash. (AP) - Mary Kay Letourneau, the grade school teacher convicted for having sex with a sixth-grade pupil, was released from prison early Wednesday, and her now 21-year-old former lover plans to challenge a court order that bars her from contacting him, a friend said. "He's relieved that she's out of prison and currently he can't wait to see her," Noel Soriano told NBC's "Today" show. Letourneau, who served 7 1/2 years in prison, slipped unnoticed past...

City Approves Tougher Alligator Policy After Attack POSTED: 6:15 am EDT August 4, 2004 SANIBEL, Fla. -- City officials approved new rules allowing trappers to kill large alligators, even if they have not acted aggressively, in the wake of an alligator attack that killed a landscaper. The city council unanimously approved the nuisance alligator policy Tuesday, allowing the city to hire a trapper to kill an alligator that is more than 4 feet long if it makes people feel unsafe. Previously, an alligator smaller than 8 feet had to behave aggressively or show signs of having been fed before it...

Probable Cause Statement: Mark Hacking Told "Reliable Witness" He Killed His Wife While She Slept Aug 3, 2004 9:25 pm US/Mountain Mark Hacking told a ``reliable'' witness at a psychiatric ward that he killed his wife as she slept in bed and then threw her body in a trash bin, a court filing says. The police affidavit, released Tuesday by prosecutors, also says investigators found a bloody knife in the bedroom of Mark Hacking's apartment and blood on the couple's headboard and bed rail. Blood from the bedroom matched traces of blood found in Lori Hacking's car, according to the...

Appeals Court Says Floridians Who Have Sex Changes Can't Marry TAMPA, Fla. -- Transgender people cannot marry as their new sex under Florida law, a state appeals court ruled Friday in setting aside a high-profile divorce ruling between a man -- who once was a woman -- and his wife. The 2nd District Court of Appeal in Lakeland said people who undergo sex changes aren't recognized by their new gender under Florida's marriage laws, which ban same-sex marriages. It wasn't known how many marriages the ruling affects since people are not required to prove gender when seeking a marriage license....

Former Principal Charged With Embezzling $400,000 From School POSTED: 4:18 pm EDT July 23, 2004 LAKE MARY, Fla. -- A former prep-school principal and former police officer is out of jail after being charged with embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from Lake Mary Preparatory School. Detectives say Rex Stephen Clark funneled money through bank accounts making it look like the school was purchasing textbooks. School officials and detectives believe, in a way, even ex-principal Stephen Clark's home was stolen from the school. They say he funneled school funds into a special bank account and withdrew $250,000 from it on...

Woman Who Lost Arm In Alligator Attack Dies In Surgery FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A woman who was mauled by an alligator died Friday in surgery to treat an infection caused by the animal's vicious bites. Janie Melsek, 54, died at Lee Memorial Hospital. Doctors said her body simply shut down in response to the infection. "My mom showed more courage than fear and I could not be more proud of her," said Melsek's daughter, Joy Williams, 29. "She's just absolutely amazed me and our whole community with the fight she put up." Melsek was attacked Wednesday by a 12-foot,...

Man Bought Mattress Just Before Reporting Wife Missing Mark Hacking 'Person Of Interest' -- Not Suspect -- In Wife's Disappearance SALT LAKE CITY -- Around the time Mark Hacking called police to report that his pregnant wife never returned from her morning jog, he was at a furniture store buying a new mattress, police confirmed Friday. Hacking, 28, has not appeared publicly since Monday, the day he said his 27-year-old wife, Lori, vanished. Family members say he has since been hospitalized for stress. The Deseret Morning News and television station KSTU reported Thursday that police found Hacking at a hotel...

Lightning Strike Energizes Maine Man MADISON, Maine - A Madison man who was struck by lightning this week says he feels "lighter and 100 years younger" than he did before the accident. "I'm feeling like my body is light. It's the best I've probably felt as far as energy in 10 years," said John Corson, 56, the day after he was struck by lightning while working outside his home. Corson thought the afternoon thunder-and-lightning storm had passed his home, and had gone outside to work on a renovation project when the lightning hit him. "It was like a whitish-blue, but...

Pets Stores Stop Sales Of Mailman Shaped Dog Treats TORONTO (Reuters) - Dogs chomping on mail carrier-shaped treats is no laughing matter for Canada Post. The unamused Canadian postal service -- whose carriers endure more than their share of real dog bites -- convinced Pet Valu Inc. stores to stop carrying Bark Bars, dog biscuits that come shaped like cats and letter carriers. "This is not in any way, shape, or form funny for us, and to make light of that ... I don't see that as funny at all, not even in the least," said John Caines, Canada Post's...

Eyeglasses Double as Chopsticks? BERLIN (Reuters) - A German firm has begun offering sunglasses and prescription spectacles with detachable frame arms that double as chopsticks or forks. The glasses designer says there is growing demand from time-pressured sushi fans eating their favorite food on the go. "The idea came from the common need for cutlery at any time," said company director Ralph Anderl, who also uses his personal frames to eat the Japanese raw fish delicacy. "Our so-called sushi specs have been a particular hit in Japan," he added. The spectacle frames, costing from 270 euros ($330), are made from...

Retired Teacher Crafts Saddle For President Bush Retired Michigan teacher Jim Rice, 75, has spent the past six weeks crafting a saddle for President Bush. The result is worth about $3,500. Michigan Congressman Nick Smith will present the saddle to the President later this year. Rice worked for 40 years as an industrial arts teacher in Adrian, Michigan, until retiring in 1989. In the summer, he would work full-time as a saddle maker and leather worker. Rice says he and a fellow leather worker, Danielle Cole, will have put between 80 to 90 hours of work into the project.

Barking Dog Dies After Mouth Taped Shut; Man Charged With Animal Cruelty POSTED: 7:34 am EDT July 23, 2004 THE COLONY, Texas -- A Texas man has been arrested after police say he taped the muzzle of his brother's dog shut and the dog died. The one-year-old black Labrador retriever, named Bull, was euthanized after suffering from heat stroke. Police say Richard Swift of The Colony, near Dallas, taped the dog's muzzle shut last week to stop him from barking so he could sleep. Swift was arrested two days later on a felony animal cruelty charge. He's free on bond....

Woman Hospitalized After Petting Circus Lion From correspondents in Montpellier July 21, 2004 A DUTCH tourist who drunkenly tried to pet a circus lion in its cage in southern France is nursing a wounded hand and neck after being scratched in return, police said. The unnamed 21-year-old woman was lucky to be only slightly injured in the incident, which occurred after she and her friends went up to the cage following an evening of drinking in a campsite in the town of Vacquieres, near Montpellier, where the circus had put on its show, officers said. She had stuck her hand...