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A police officer shot in the head by a doughnut shop robber died Thursday morning, the police commissioner announced. The gunman went into the shop and demanded money just before Cassidy opened the door, said Sandra Kim, a Dunkin' Donuts employee who was behind the counter at the time. He then spun around and shot the officer as he held the door. Cassidy was a regular customer who came in twice a day for a large coffee with cream and sugar, Kim said. "He's always nice to all the employees," she said. "The officer was just coming in for a...

The "hot doughnut experience." That's the difference between Krispy Kreme and other large doughnut chains. Dunkin' Donuts may be bigger (at least in the East), but nothing stirs the soul like the neon "Hot Doughnuts Now" sign that lights up when Krispy Kreme's famous Original Glazeds come rolling off the line. If you've ever had a doughnut hot out of the fryer, you know how tough it is to stop at just one. Just what we need: an irresistible food that's made of sugarcoated white flour fried in trans-fat-laden oil. Doughnuts are a phenomenon. Fortune magazine recently named the rapidly...

Doughnuts, his deep-fried favorite, have been deep-sixed at Putnam's senior centers because officials say they are bad for the old folks' health and could be dirty. Not surprisingly, some of those same seniors don't like the doughnut police telling them what to dunk in their coffee.

What else is there to do on Thursdays besides FReep and listen to TSN?!

Tim Hortons has launched a double-double of a lawsuit, seeking $105 million in damages from two of Canada's largest media companies and a popular Toronto radio talk-show host. The coffee chain giant filed a defamation suit against Standard Radio and CFRB talk-show host Bill Carroll, along with CanWest, which owns Global TV, alleging they falsely stated that Ottawa footed the bill for a franchise serving Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. "The false and defamatory statements respecting the establishment of a Tim Hortons franchise injured the plaintiffs' trade name, brand and commercial reputation," according to documents filed with the Superior Court of...

That cup of coffee just not getting it done anymore? How about a Buzz Donut or a Buzzed Bagel? That's what Doctor Robert Bohannon, a Durham, North Carolina, molecular scientist, has come up with. Bohannon says he's developed a way to add caffeine to baked goods, without the bitter taste of caffeine. Each piece of pastry is the equivalent of about two cups of coffee. While the product is not on the market yet, Bohannon has approached some heavyweight companies, including Krispy Kreme, Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks about carrying it.

Airport security is a serious business, but why was a Reg reader refused a Krispy Kreme doughnut at Heathrow airport? Admittedly, the sugared snacks contain enough cooking oil and sugar to power a trailer park, but who knew they could be fashioned into bombs? On Saturday afternoon a Reg reader was dropping some friends at Heathrow and stopped off at Krispy Kreme doughnuts outside Terminal 3. But the reader was directed to the unstuffed ring doughnuts rather than a full-fat, fully stuffed Krispy Kreme special because the fillings fall foul of security restrictions. "Imagine our confusion when the guy serving...

FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- It's North versus South -- in the doughnut wars. Dunkin' Donuts is a tradition in the Northeast, but the South is Krispy Kreme territory. Now Dunkin' Donuts is testing the waters in the Nashville area with a dozen stores. Maine native Joe Rando said he's a lifelong Dunkin' fanatic, and missed his favorite coffee and doughnuts when he moved South. Now, he's signed on with Dunkin' and is in charge of the Nashville-area operation. He feels there's room for Dunkin' Donuts, Krispy Kreme and even more. He said employees of Starbucks are coming across the street to...

RICHLAND, Wash. - A stolen truck full of doughnuts? Better believe Tri-Cities police were on that in a hurry. Moments after the theft of the Viera's Bakery van was reported early Friday in Kennewick, police issued an all-points bulletin. A Benton County sheriff's deputy quickly spotted the truck. After a chase at 30 to 35 mph, Richland police got it to stop and arrested the driver, Steve Swoboda, 19, for investigation of auto theft and felony escape. Still intact was the entire load of glazed, sugar and cream doughnuts, as well as apple fritters, bear claws. "In 24 years in...

Lou's Living Donut Museum is dead. San Jose's cathedral of cholesterol sold its last heavenly doughnut this morning, ending a 51-year run of providing breakfast treats and memories. ``I prepared for this for a while,'' said Chaz Chavira, 46, who with his family bought the joint from the original Lou (Lou Ades) in 1981. ``It's almost more of a relief than it is a sad thing.'' Chavira has struggled with health problems including diabetes, pancreatic problems and erratically high cholesterol. His mother, Connie, who also works at the shop at Delmas and Auzerais avenues, recently had to hang up her...

Michael Vale, the actor best known for his portrayal of a sleepy-eyed Dunkin' Donuts baker who said "Time to make the donuts," has died, his family said on Tuesday. He was 83 years old. Vale's long-running character, "Fred the Baker," became a cultural icon. The ad campaign lasted 15 years, until Vale retired in 1997. Vale died Saturday in New York City of complications from diabetes, according to son-in law Rick Reil.

Krispy Kreme's neon red ''Hot Doughnuts Now" sign has gone dark on Route 1, creating a gaping hole in Saugus's commercial strip just 16 months after opening to great fanfare, with balloons, giveaways, and customers camping out overnight to be first in line. With its name blacked out on its towering sign, its windows papered up, and its building for lease, Krispy Kreme's demise is easy to spot.

BOSTON -- A trio of private-equity firms is purchasing Dunkin' Donuts from a French company. Pernod Ricard is selling the chain to the Boston-based Bain Group, Thomas H. Lee Partners and the Carlyle Group for just $2.4 billion. The deal also includes the Baskin-Robbins ice cream and Togo's fast-food chains. The three companies will invest equal amounts of equity in the company and will leave the existing Dunkin' Brands management team in place.

Doughnut franchises in Saugus, Medford close Krispy Kreme doughnut shops closed yesterday in Saugus and Medford. Officials at the Jan Cos., a Cranston, R.I., company that is the Krispy Kreme franchiser for New England, did not return phone calls seeking comment. ... The Medford location was the franchiser's first Massachusetts store.

RUSH: Ask not what the Democrats have to do to win the red states; ask what the Democrats have to do to hold the blue states -- because Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi and John Kerry are creating Reagan Democrats by the gazillions. Joe Lieberman recognizes it, and the Washington Post is beginning to recognize it. A headline today: "Democrats Fear Backlash at Polls for Anti-War Remarks." Folks, it's gotten so bad that that TV show Commander-in-Chief is not even in the top 20 anymore. The ratings are plummeting there. That's that show where Geena Davis is the first female...

EVERETT - Think of clowns, and birthday parties or circus rings may come to mind -- not gun-wielding robbers. But that was the case in Everett Wednesday morning when two armed clowns hit a doughnut shop. In full clown make up with red noses, two men walked into Henry's Donut Shop and locked the door. The owner was alone, her husband on his way. "He took the gun and told me, 'not to move.' He wanted money," said husband Be Le, who also sells Vietnamese sandwiches at the shop. Le's wife showed the clowns the cash register, but they had...

(CBS4) WASHINGTON New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg is a bit richer today. He is one of 49 people who won a second place prize in Wednesday night's Powerball drawing. Gregg matched 5 of the winning numbers, but missed the Powerball. His ticket is worth $853,492. Senator Gregg bought the ticket in Washington, DC at a gas station with a Dunkin Donuts.There was just one winner of the $340 million Powerball jackpot. That winning ticket was sold in Oregon. The winning numbers were 7, 21, 43, 44, and 49. The powerball was 29. The odds of hitting all 6 were 1...

The department was all astir, there was a lot of laughing and joking due to all the new officers, myself included, hitting the streets today for the first time. After months of seemingly endless amounts of classes, paperwork, and lectures we were finally done with the Police Academy and ready to join the ranks of our department. All you could see were rows of cadets with huge smiles and polished badges. As we sat in the briefing room, we could barely sit still anxiously awaiting our turn to be introduced and given our beat assignment or, for the lay person,...

Wildlife Officials Catch Bear With Doughnuts POSTED: 3:17 pm EDT July 25, 2005 BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. -- Wildlife officials say they used doughnuts to catch a bear in Bonita Springs. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says a small young female bear was trapped Monday morning, five days after it was set free. Wildlife biologists are towing the bear in the trap to the Ocala National Forest. There, the bear will be tranquilized, receive a radio collar, be weighed and then released--again. Authorities also trapped a 225-pound male bear in the same area two weeks ago.

Doughnut plan's full of holes, critics say Saturday, July 16, 2005 By SCOTT FALLON STAFF WRITER Bergen's municipal clerks do not want any part of the county's doughnuts or its coffee. That message was sent in a strongly worded letter from the Bergen County Municipal Clerks Association to two freeholders who budgeted $9,000 to give refreshments to poll workers on Election Day. The plan by Freeholders Bernadette McPherson and David Ganz to have clerks arrange for doughnuts and coffee when they are mandated to serve as election officials is "demeaning, condescending, disrespectful and inappropriate," wrote Greg Hart, president of the...