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RALEIGH, N.C. – Doctors say a North Carolina man who was plagued with coughing fits should be OK now that they have removed a 1-inch piece of plastic from his lung, where it had rested since he apparently inhaled it nearly two years ago while sucking down a soft drink at a Wendy's restaurant. Doctors at Duke University Medical Center say the plastic fragment of an eating utensil — with the Wendy's logo still legible on the side — was likely to blame for the coughing, fatigue and pneumonia spells that plagued John Manley for almost two years.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) – Canadian police were on the search on Monday for a brazen thief who snatched a take-away meal while making a naked run past a fast food restaurant's drive-though window. An employee of a Langley, British Columbia, Wendy's restaurant was handing food to a customer waiting in her car when a naked man ran between them, taking off with her fries, and leaving little evidence behind, according to police. "Other than an age range, neither woman could provide further description," police said in a press release.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- A three-year-old girl was taken along for the ride during her mother's crime spree in Brevard County. Cocoa police say it all started in the early hours of Friday morning when the mother, with her daughter in the backseat, decided to rob the Wendy's on US 1 in Cocoa. Police say she was armed with a gun and got away with $600 cash. When the cops showed up, the suspect jumped in her car and took off. Police chased her for nearly 10 minutes and finally used stop sticks on her vehicle. One police car even...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Wendy's employee was killed Thursday afternoon after being shot by a co-worker, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Thomas Theo Brown Police are searching for Thomas Theo Brown. Gunshots were fired at about 2:30 p.m. inside the Wendy's in the 3000 block of St. Johns Bluff Road on the Southside. Police said they are searching for Thomas Theo Brown, whom they've identified as a suspect in the fatal shooting. According to investigators, Brown was working at the fast-food restaurant when he got upset about something and left work. "He went home and he said in a...

Roast Beef Sandwich Chain Buys Square Burger Biz For $2 Billion (AP) After two past rejections, the owner of Arby's shaved roast beef sandwich restaurants is buying Wendy's, the fast-food chain famous for its made-to-order square hamburgers and chocolate Frosty dessert, for around $2 billion. Triarc Companies Inc., which is owned by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, said Thursday it will pay about $2.34 billion in an all-stock deal for the nation's third-largest hamburger chain started in 1969 by Dave Thomas. Wendy's had rejected at least two buyout offers from Triarc. Thomas' daughter Pam Thomas Farber said the family was devastated...

A Rogers High School student accused of attempted kidnapping and trying to rob his employer recently had started therapy for personal problems, an advocate for the boy’s family said Tuesday. Jim Miranda, a lawyer and Hispanic rights advocate in Bella Vista, said Eduardo “Eddie” Hernandez, 17, suffers lingering effects because he stayed behind in Mexico as a boy while his mother came to the United States to work. “There is a certain amount of resentment that comes with being left behind in Mexico,” Miranda said. “The boy has some issues to work out, and his mother had recognized this and...

Monday, March 03, 2008 Update 6:15 p.m.: The victim of the Wendy's shooting has been identified as a 42-year-old Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Lieutenant Rafael (Ray) Vazquez. Vazquez was on lunch break with his wife and child, said Deputy Chief of Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Steve Delai. Five other people were shot in the restaurant at lunchtime. Vazquez's wife works for the Palm Springs Police Department. She was hired in 2000 as a dispatcher for Palm Springs Police. In 2005, she became a corporal and now runs the midnight shift. She was uninjured. She had just stepped outside to put...

<p>WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A gunman dressed in suit and tie killed one person at a Wendy's restaurant at lunchtime Monday, and shot four others before killing himself, police said.</p> <p>The gunfire sent customers scampering out of the restaurant. Motorists at the drive-thru window also fled, some leaving their vehicles running.</p>

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Witnesses said a man in a business suit opened fire Monday in a Wendy's restaurant in West Palm Beach, killing one person and injuring at least four others before killing himself, WPBF News 25 reported. The shooter, who is described by witnesses as a tall man wearing a baseball cap and a business suit, reportedly walked out of the bathroom of the Wendy's at Cherry Road and Military Trail around 12:18 p.m. Monday and shot a middle-aged white man standing by the railing near the front counter, killing him, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office spokesman...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Authorities said at least two people are dead and five injured after a shooter entered a West Palm Beach Wendy's and shot several people, WPBF News 25 reported. A shooter apparently entered the restaurant at Cherry Road and Military Trail and shot several individuals around 12:10 p.m. Monday, Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue spokesman Don Delucia told WPBF News 25. The shooter then reportedly shot and killed himself, Delucia said. Delucia said that at least five people have been reported injured. Authorities said at least two individuals were killed, WPBF reported.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A gunman wearing a jacket and tie wordlessly and randomly opened fire inside a Wendy's during the lunchtime rush Monday, killing a firefighter who'd gone back to fetch his child's toy and wounding five other diners. He then turned the gun on himself. ADVERTISEMENT "This was not a robbery. He didn't demand anything...," said Paul Miller, a Palm Beach County sheriff's spokesman. "Looks like this was just another random shooting like we've seen around the United States." The 42-year-old victim, a Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue lieutenant, had met his wife and child at the restaurant,...

Wendy's purchase talks stuck at crawl Friday, August 10, 2007 3:25 AM By Monique Curet THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Wendy's International Inc. remains in talks with a potential buyer more than a week after a deadline passed for resolving issues related to the sale process. Neither the company nor the suitor, investor Nelson Peltz's Triarc Cos., is saying much. But if Wendy's is taking a hard stance during the negotiations, it suggests that the company "has sufficient interest from someone else," one observer said. No one is saying who that might be. Peltz, who owns Arby's and controls nearly 10 percent...

MIAMI --A manager at a fast-food restaurant was shot several times in the arm early Tuesday trying to protect the chili sauce, authorities said. A man in the Wendy's drive-through argued with an employee because he wanted more of the condiment, police said. The worker told the customer that restaurant policy prohibited a customer from getting more than three packets. The man insisted on 10, reports said. The employee complied, but police said the customer wanted even more. The manager came out to speak to the man, said Miami-Dade police spokesman Mary Walter. The customer then shot the manager, who...

"Please, Senator, tell us that funny joke about a college education, President Bush, our troops and Iraq.""What do ya mean, funny? Let me understand this cause, I don't know maybe it's me, I'm a little effed up maybe, but I'm funny how? I mean, funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh... I'm here to effin' amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny? No, no, I don't know... you said it. How do I know? You said I'm funny. How the eff am I funny, what the eff is so...

HOUSTON - A group of illegal immigrants who worked for Wendy's International Inc. is suing the restaurant chain because the company fired them after discovering it had missed a deadline for joining a federal program that would have helped them attain legal status. The lawsuit, filed Friday in state district court in Houston, is a companion to a similar class-action suit filed last month in Dallas against Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy's, its subsidiary Cafe Express and the Houston-based business law firm Boyar & Miller. The immigrants, who worked for Cafe Express, are seeking unspecified damages. Between the two lawsuits, 40 illegal...

Wendy's said yesterday it would significantly cut artery-clogging trans fats from its menu, beating market leader McDonald's, which still has not made good on its promise to remove the fats from french fries in the U.S.

DUBLIN, Ohio President Bush mixed politics with his prescription for what ails the nation's health care system on a trip Wednesday to Ohio, which was a pivotal state in his re-election and one with key races in this year's midterm elections. The president made his case for health savings accounts at Wendy's International Inc., where 9,000 employees have signed up for the accounts since the hamburger giant began offering them last year. "After more than five years of health care costs going at double-digit rates, Wendy's overall health care costs rose only by 1 percent last year," Bush said.

The president went to Dublin, Ohio, to attend a meeting on health savings accounts. Al Hubbard, Director of the National Economic Council, answers questions on this topic on "Ask the White House." Brit Hume interviewed the vice president today about the hunting accident; the conversation will be on Special Report, Fox News, at the usual air times tonight. The vice president called the day of the hunting accident "one of the worst days of my life." Harry Whittington is doing "extremely well" a day after he suffered a minor heart attack, doctors said. He is sitting up, eating, and doing...

San Jose -- A Nevada couple who cooked up a scheme to plant a severed finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili to extort money from the fast food chain were sentenced Wednesday to lengthy prison terms. Anna Ayala, 40, who said she bit into the digit, was sentenced to nine years in state prison. Her husband, Jaime Plascencia, 44, who supplied the finger, was ordered locked up for more than a dozen years. The pair pleaded guilty Sept. 9 in Santa Clara County Superior Court to two felony charges arising from the chili-finger scam: conspiracy to file a false...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Prosecutors are asking a judge to impose maximum prison sentences for the couple who masterminded the plot to plant a human fingertip in a bowl of Wendy's chili, calling the pair "grifters" who demonstrated "a total selfishness and perceived entitlement to other people's money." Jaime Plascencia, 44, and Anna Ayala, 40, pleaded guilty on Sept. 9 to two felony charges arising from the chili-finger scam: conspiracy to file a false insurance claim and attempted grand theft with damages exceeding $2.5 million. At most, Ayala faces nine years, eight months in prison for her part in the...

Dumpster diving has become popular among some fast-food consumers, thanks to a Wendy’s Restaurant promotion for free airfare. Wendy’s has partnered with Coca-Cola and AirTran Airlines in a promotional deal in which consumers who collect 32 soft-drink cups with a yellow ticket on the side can redeem the tickets for a free one-way ticket on an AirTran flight. Sixty-four tickets earn a consumer a roundtrip ticket. Those trying to earn the free airfare can go about it the old fashioned way by purchasing 32 soft drinks, sizes 20 or 32 ounces, from a Wendy’s restaurant. Other collectors have learned that...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Sentencing for the couple implicated in the Wendy's chili finger scheme has been delayed until next month. Anna Ayala and her husband, Jaime Placencia, were scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday for their role in planting a fingertip in a bowl of chili at Wendy's restaurant in March. Sentencing for the couple was delayed because a probation report was not ready yet. Ayala had claimed that she bit into the finger while eating chili at a Wendy's restaurant in San Jose earlier this year. Ayala and Placencia pleaded guilty in September to conspiring to file a false...

Wendy's has an angry shareholder at its drive-thru window: Nelson Peltz. Mr. Peltz, the billionaire investor who turned around Snapple and Arby's, has been quietly buying shares of Wendy's International, the third-largest fast-food company, behind McDonald's and Burger King. Now he plans to propose a radical overhaul of Wendy's and threatens a proxy fight, according to people briefed on his plans. Over the last year, Wendy's has been the target of several vocal hedge funds that argue that the company has been mismanaged. In July, Wendy's capitulated in part to calls to sell Tim Hortons, its successful Canadian doughnut chain,...

Wendy's International announced Tuesday it paid $100,000 in reward money to two tipsters who helped police crack the attempted finger-in-the-chili scam -- half to a woman too scared to let her name be known; half to a man ordered not to talk about it. The woman will remain anonymous because of fear of reprisals. Mike Casey will not. Casey complained to the Mercury News last week that the fast food giant was reneging on its promise to pay the reward. On Tuesday, he said he got the money but was under a gag order. ``Part of the deal on the...

Anna Ayala has pleaded guilty to charges she planted a human finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili as part of a scheme to defraud the fast food chain. The deal was reached this morning in a San Jose courthouse. Ayala also pleaded guilty to a unrelated charge that she defrauded a San Jose woman in a mobile home sale. Ayala's husband, Jaime Plascencia, is also expected to plead guilty. But discussions regarding that deal haven't been completed yet. Plascencia and Ayala had been charged with two felony charges in connection with the Wendy's case: conspiracy to file a false...

Wendy's Disaster Relief Efforts Members of the Wendy's Family are coming together to help one another in the wake of the devastation and loss from Hurricane Katrina. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who has been affected by this terrible tragedy. We're working to locate our employees and assisting them in this time of urgent need," said Tom Mueller, president and chief operating officer of Wendy's North America. Wendy's is reaching out to the estimated 2,500 Wendy's employees who are out of work as a result of the storm. Our biggest challenge is to locate these employees and...

Aug. 26 (BCN) - The Las Vegas couple accused of planting a piece of human finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili did not get a plea deal today despite their attorneys spending more than an hour discussing the case with a judge. The attorneys for Anna Ayala, 39, and her husband Jaime Placencia, 43, have spent the past two days seeking a plea deal for the couple from Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Edward Davila. This morning Davila halted the talks and asked for more information about the facts of the case, according to Deputy District Attorney David...

There's nothing quite as unnerving as becoming the target of fraud. For us at Wendy's, that nightmare became reality when a customer falsely accused the Wendy's on Monterey Road in San Jose, Calif., of putting a human fingertip in a bowl of chili. Within an hour the story was on TV news, and soon after, Wendy's was fodder for Jay Leno. It was painful for us to watch unfold. In the early hours of this crisis, we were faced with demanding questions. How we chose to respond was critical. The exposure of this hoax by authorities has completely vindicated Wendy's....

Las Vegas -- The husband of Anna Ayala paid a co-worker for his severed fingertip to "create a lawsuit" by planting the digit in food at an unidentified restaurant, San Jose police allege in court records filed Wednesday. The allegation of a widening conspiracy in the chili-finger case came as The Chronicle identified the injured co-worker as Brian Paul Rossiter and reported the man's mother saying that he gave the finger to Ayala's husband, James Plascencia, to settle a $50 debt. The co-worker's right ring finger was sheered off after his gloved hand was caught in a mechanical truck hoist...

The Las Vegas man whose severed fingertip ended up in a cup of Wendy's chili gave his mangled digit to a co-worker to settle a $50 debt -- but had no idea it would be used in an alleged scheme to swindle the fast-food chain, the man's mother said Tuesday. San Jose police have refused to name the man whose finger they believe ended up in the chili. But the man's mother, reached by The Chronicle on Tuesday, said the finger belonged to her 36-year-old son, Brian Paul Rossiter of Las Vegas. "My son is the victim in this,'' Rossiter's...

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The mysterious finger that a woman claimed to have found in a bowl of Wendy's chili came from an associate of her husband who lost the finger in an industrial accident, police said Friday. ADVERTISEMENT "The jig is up. The puzzle pieces are beginning to fall into place, and the truth is being exposed," Police Chief Rob Davis said. The discovery of the finger's owner marks a significant break in a case that has confounded authorities for nearly two months, ever since Anna Ayala claimed she bit down on the well-manicured, 1 1/2-inch finger in a...

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The mysterious finger that a woman claimed to have found in a bowl of Wendy's chili came from an associate of her husband who lost the finger in an industrial accident, police said Friday. "The jig is up. The puzzle pieces are beginning to fall into place, and the truth is being exposed," Police Chief Rob Davis said. The discovery of the finger's owner marks a significant break in a case that has confounded authorities for nearly two months, ever since Anna Ayala claimed she bit down on the well-manicured, 1 1/2-inch finger in a mouthful...

FICKLED FINGER OF FATE FERRETS FAKERIt seems that her brother-in-law had a hand in it-- he'd accidentally cut off the little digit. She planted the pinky in her bowl of chili. (Bet he's thankful she wasn't Lorena Bobbit!)

Digit apparently belonged to co-worker of accuser's husbandSAN JOSE, Calif. - Police say the finger that a woman found in a bowl of chili came from an associate of her husband’s who lost the digit in an industrial accident.

San Jose police investigating the origin of a finger they say was planted in a bowl of Wendy's chili said Tuesday that they were receiving assistance from Mexican law enforcement officials. On Tuesday, KGO Channel 7 reported that Mexican police had searched a ranch north of Guadalajara on Monday that belonged to relatives of the husband of Anna Ayala, the 39-year-old Las Vegas woman in jail accused of planting the finger in her chili. San Jose police spokesman Enrique Garcia confirmed they were receiving cooperation from Mexican authorities but did not say which agencies were assisting or what help they...

This weekend at Wendy's nationwide, Frostys are on the house. From Friday, May 13, through Sunday, May 15, consumers can pick up a free Junior Frosty at their local Wendy's restaurant. No purchase is required for customers to receive the free dessert.The company estimates it will give away more than 14 million Junior Frostys during the special three-day event. "We're thanking our loyal customers for their support following the incident in San Jose," saus Tom Mueller, Wendy's president and chief operating officer. "Dave Thomas insisted we always 'do the right thing,' and we have kept our word. Our customers stood...

SAN JOSE, Calif. (May 9) - The woman accused of fabricating a story about finding a finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili smiled, gave a thumbs-up sign and mouthed "I love you" to television camera crews during a brief court appearance on Monday. Anna Ayala, 39, also shouted an enthusiastic, "Thank you, judge!" when Santa Clara County Judge Jerome Nadler set bail at $500,000. She is due back in court May 18 and remains jailed on charges of attempted grand larceny and grand larceny. Ayala, who has maintained her innocence, faces a maximum seven-year sentence if convicted of attempted...

South Texas native has sued, been sued many times before SAN JOSE, Calif. - Anna Ayala grew up in a dirt-poor Texas town not far from the Rio Grande. She was the baby of an extended family of 14 children. She trained horses and painted. She had two children of her own and followed her sister west to San Jose, yearning for a better life. She lived in relative obscurity. Then, on March 22, she went to Wendy's for a bowl of chili. When she claimed she bit into a tip of a human finger that day, the 39-year-old daughter...

Husband of Wendy's finger case suspect arrested SAN JOSE, Calif. The husband of the woman accused of making up a story about finding a finger in a bowl of fast-food chili was arrested tonight near Las Vegas on unrelated charges. San Jose police say Jaime (Heye'-mee) Plascencia (Pluh-SEN'-see-uh) faces charges of identity theft, failure to pay child support and child abandonment, and document fraud. Plascencia is married to Anna Ayala, whose claim of finding a finger in a bowl of chili at a San Jose Wendy's is a hoax, according to police.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - San Jose police insisted that a search of the home of Anna Ayala's in-laws was not connected to the criminal case against Ayala and her claim of finding a finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili. The Tuesday night search was part of a separate probe that began seven weeks before the March 22 incident when Ayala says she bit into the finger, according to Officer Enrique Garcia. He refused to divulge any other details of the earlier investigation. But a relative said a detective asked a family friend during the search, "Do you know...

Anna Ayala has waived extradition from Nevada to California, telling the judge that she is "eager" to return to California to face charges of grand theft. Apparently, she is a hoaxer of long standing. And California is quite serious about bringing charges. Why then this unseemly eagerness? We will offer today a theory that just might blow your mind. Don't go away: this is going to be good. Let's review the story; yes, the whole fowl thing. Ms. Ayala, a native of Las Vegas, stopped for a bite at a Wendy's while traveling in San Jose, California. She ordered a...

LAS VEGAS - Either the authorities know more than they are saying about the finger in Wendy's chili, or, legal experts say, the case against Anna Ayala could be headed for trouble. During a brief court appearance Tuesday morning, the 39-year-old Ayala scowled at a line of news photographers before telling a Nevada judge that she is eager to return to San Jose and fight the criminal charges against her -- including an allegation that Ayala deliberately planted the finger in a scheme to get money from Wendy's. Authorities have provided few details about how they intend to prove that...

Woman in Wendy's Case Waives Extradition By CHRISTINA ALMEIDA, Associated Press Writer LAS VEGAS - The woman who was arrested after claiming she bit into a human finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili waived extradition Tuesday, telling a judge she was eager to return to California to face charges. Anna Ayala, 39, appeared before the same judge who issued a warrant for police to search her home outside Las Vegas on April 6. Records from that raid are sealed. (snip) Ayala, who has maintained her innocence, faces a maximum seven-year sentence if convicted of the larceny charges, and at...

Police said a woman paid $11,000 to Ayala toward the purchase of a mobile home. The home was owned by Ayala's live-in boyfriend, and days after the woman moved in she was told to move out because the home loan was in default, a police report said. Ayala since had moved to Las Vegas and refused to return the woman's money, the report said. SAN JOSE, Calif.-- High-tech testing and old-fashioned police work convinced San Jose police that a Las Vegas woman who claimed to have found a finger in her Wendy's chili was full of beans. __________________ Andy Diaz,...

LAS VEGAS - Anna Ayala's attorney said Saturday she is eager to return to San Jose to prove she is innocent of allegations that she planted a human finger in her bowl of Wendy's chili last month. ``She's denying them completely, and I believe she is innocent,'' said San Jose attorney Frederick Ehler, noting that Ayala will waive extradition to face the felony charges authorities have filed against her -- perhaps arriving as early as this week. Ayala has been the focus of intense scrutiny, by police and the media, in the month since the former San Jose resident said...

SAN JOSE, Calif. Apr 23, 2005 — Wendy's restaurants are hoping business will bounce back now that a woman who claimed she found a finger in her bowl of chili has been arrested and investigators say the whole case was likely a hoax. Anna Ayala is accused of attempted grand larceny, a charge authorities said relates to the financial losses Wendy's has suffered since Ayala claimed she bit down a 1 1/2-inch finger tip in a mouthful of her chili on March 22. The loss to Wendy's restaurants in the Bay area is $2.5 million, according to the felony complaint...

Cops nail Vegas woman in Wendy's finger caper APRIL 22--Meet Anna Ayala. The Las Vegas woman was arrested last night and hit with felony theft charges in connection with her claim to have found a severed finger in a bowl of chili served to her last month at a Wendy's restaurant in San Jose, California. Further details of the case against Ayala, 39, are scheduled to be released later today during a police press conference. Ayala is being held in Las Vegas's Clark County Detention Center, where the below mug shot was snapped. Ayala filed a legal claim against the...

11:23am 04/22/05 Wendy's says it's 'thrilled' with news of arrest (WEN) By Heather Wilson SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Wendy's International (WEN) said Friday that it was "thrilled" that an arrest has been made in connection with an incident at one of its San Jose, Calif. restaurants. The company said that it will hold a press conference at 1pm Pacific time today.

LAS VEGAS - The woman who claimed she found a finger in her bowl of Wendy's chili last month has been arrested, the latest twist in a bizarre case about how the 1 1/2-inch finger tip ended up in a bowl of fast food. Anna Ayala was taken into custody late Thursday at her Las Vegas home, police said. Authorities would not provide details until a news conference Friday in San Jose, Calif. - the city where Ayala claimed she bit down on the finger in a mouthful of her steamy stew. Ayala's 18-year-old son, Guadalupe Reyes, said he had...

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 20 - Denny Lynch sat at a booth at a Wendy's restaurant, finishing bites of a chicken sandwich between cellphone calls. Mr. Lynch, a Wendy's executive, was one of only a few lunchtime patrons at the normally buzzing restaurant, where lately business is off by half. That's because, in the same booth where Mr. Lynch sat, a patron claimed on March 22 that she dipped into her cup of beef chili and found part of a human finger. Since then, Mr. Lynch, Wendy's senior vice president for communications, and the rest of Wendy's executive team have...