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Lose pounds or pay

Sat, 11/24/2007 - 13:54 by MT Bureau

New Haven, Conn. -- Call it the Ivy League lose or pay diet -- two Yale professors think they can get people to pay up if they fail to slim down.

Next month Yale economics Professor Dean Karlan and law Professor Ian Ayres will kick off StickK, which will require people to sign legally binding contracts requiring they pay hundreds of dollars if they don't make their goal, the New York Sun reported Friday.

Karlan told the newspaper he tested the theory on himself, losing 10 pounds in 10 weeks with the threat of having to pay a friend $1,000 each week he failed to shed a pound.

He and Ayres will apply their methodology to people desiring to reach any type of goal, whether dieting or learning a new skill or quitting smoking. Customers pay an upfront amount they agree to forfeit if they miss their goal.

This diamond ring will rock the wallet

Sat, 11/24/2007 - 12:11 by MT Bureau

New York -- A high-end jeweler in New York said he believes someone will be willing to fork over a lot of lettuce for a wedding band with a lot of carats.

Jeweler Daniel K, whose clients include Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry and Emmy winner Debra Messing, said his $1 million band contains 21.66 carats of diamonds set in his trademarked "uternity" design, the New York Daily News reported Friday.

The jeweler told the newspaper the platinum ring containing 12 diamonds took about a year to craft by hand and was inspired by what he called "the ambience of New York City."

The jeweler sells his rings to private customers and never before has offered a piece for sale publicly, the newspaper said.

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Copyright 2007 by United Press In

Claim: Interrogation abusive, not criminal

Sat, 11/24/2007 - 11:39 by MT Bureau

Fukuoka, Japan -- A former Japanese police officer says his humiliation of a criminal suspect he interrogated may have been an abuse of authority but was not a crime.

Takahiro Hamada of Fukuoka, a former assistant inspector for Kagoshima Prefectural Police, acknowledges that in 2003 he forced Sachio Kawabata to step on papers bearing the names of his father and grandson -- a psychological ploy known as "fumiji" that eventually led to a confession from the hotel operator, Kyodo reported Friday. Police were investigating alleged violations in regional elections at the time.

Hamada has pleaded innocent to charges he inflicted mental pain on Kawabata, the Japanese news agency reported.

"It's a fact that I made him do fumiji once," the former investigator said. "I'm reflecting upon my deeds, which eventually gave (Kawabata) an unpleasant experience."

Nincompoop' is Britain's favorite word

Fri, 11/23/2007 - 21:42 by MT Bureau

London -- A British survey has found "nincompoop" to be the nation's favorite word of the 16,500 entries in the Cambridge Dictionary.

The survey of more than 2,000 Britons found 13 percent of respondents chose "nincompoop" -- which likely derived from the Latin "non compos mentis," which means someone not of a sound mind -- as their favorite sounding English word, The Daily Mail reported Thursday.

The poll, commissioned by Ubisoft, makers of the language computer game "My Word Search," found "love" was the second most popular word among those polled and "mum" was third.

"The results demonstrate our passion for language and the sentiment we attach to words such as love and mum," Ubisoft spokesman Mike Masuku said. "It also highlights how narrow most people's vocabulary has become."

Turkey Testicle Festival a big hit in Ill.

Fri, 11/23/2007 - 18:30 by MT Bureau

Woodstock, Ill. -- One of the owners of a local pub in Huntley, Ill., said the village's annual Turkey Testicle Festival is a thrilling time for all involved.

Parkside Pub co-owner Mark McDonald, whose locale hosted this week's annual event, said that the holiday celebration has been a popular and exciting activity for locals for the last 25 years, the Arlington Heights (Ill.)

"It's the best party in Huntley -- ever!" McDonald said of Wednesday's celebration.

The event includes a trivia contest on turkey-related information and of course includes an abundance of turkey testicles for festival veterans and first-timers to sink their teeth into.

Last year's event even managed to raise $30,000 for local charities, the Herald said.

When asked why his pub would go through 1,200 pounds of anatomical parts this year, McDonald offered a simple and slightly disturbing answer.

Deer drops in on lunching hunter

Fri, 11/23/2007 - 18:12 by MT Bureau

Sogndal, Norway -- A Norwegian hunter received a gift from above when a disoriented deer apparently slipped on a patch of ice and plummeted to where the hunter was eating.

Sveinung Brusegard said he was taking a break from hunting to enjoy his packed lunch when a female deer fell down a steep mountainside to land next to him.

"I saw the hind come whizzing through the air, and the trip stopped just three meters (about 10 feet) from where I was sitting. I bent over and stabbed it with my knife, and that was my quota full for this year," Brusegard.

Brusegard said the deer had broken its back in the fall and was unconscious when he ended its suffering.

The hunter said his permit only allowed him to shoot a buck, but hunting officials were lenient when he described the situation that led to the animal's death.

School teacher admits to life in porn

Fri, 11/23/2007 - 09:29 by MT Bureau

Rome -- An Italian schoolteacher has revealed her secret after-hours life as Internet porn star Madameweb.

Anna Ciriani, who teaches Italian in the northeastern town of Pordenone, said her work as a teacher is impeccably professional, complete with modest clothing and a serious attitude, The Independent reported Thursday.

However, as Madameweb, Ciriani is the star of a number of hardcore videos that are spread over more than a dozen Web sites.

Although her identity was well known before she publicly admitted to her double life on her blog, public criticism had been sparse until she traveled last month to Germany for the 11th Venus-Berlin international pornography fair.

News of her performance at the fair -- and the subsequent creation of YouTube videos that depict her walking the streets and riding a bus in the nude -- have drawn fire from some colleagues.

Couple saves two turkeys from holiday fate

Fri, 11/23/2007 - 09:19 by MT Bureau

Santa Cruz, Calif -- A California couple recently adopted two turkeys freed by animal activists, and now the birds will avoid the traditional Thanksgiving fate.

Karen Oeh and her husband, Mike Balistreri, said they chose to adopt the two birds immediately after the animals were rescued from a plane in Las Vegas by animal rights activists, The New York Times reported Thursday.

"I am like a new parent," Oeh said of her new family members. "I instantly, totally fell in love, and now I just want to stay home with them."

The two birds were part of a shipment of baby turkeys that was delayed at a Las Vegas airport in July, where the animals were left in dangerous conditions inside a plane, the report said.

Despite Oeh's apparent joy at her newfound friends, 75-year-old Marcia Lane offered the couple a warning she learned since she began adopting the feathered beasts in 2004.

No beer allegedly costs goat its life

Thu, 11/22/2007 - 22:19 by MT Bureau

Waupaca, Wis -- A Wisconsin man faces three charges after allegedly shooting a pet goat because his wife wouldn't bring beer home for him.

Police records in Waupaca, Wis., said Peter Mischler, 48, came home from hunting on Saturday. He allegedly became angry his daughter had let two pet goats out of their pens, the Appleton (Wis.) Post Crescent reported.

As his 22-year-old daughter was speaking with her mother on the phone, Mischler told his wife to bring beer home, but she arrived without it, the records said.

The women told police Mischler went outside and they heard four gunshots. They called police, and Mischler disappeared. Officers arrived and found one of the goats mortally wounded, and it was put down by an officer, the report said.

Police: Teens' pot smell a dead give-away

Thu, 11/22/2007 - 21:49 by MT Bureau

Worcester, Mass -- Two 18-year-old youths were arrested last week after allegedly showing up at a police station in Leicester, Mass., smelling of marijuana.

Authorities allegedly noticed the odiferous clue when Garrett R. St. Cyr came into the station Friday seeking a solicitor's license, leading them to investigate the teenager who had given him a ride, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette said Tuesday.

Police alleged that while questioning the other teenager, Joshua R. Kephart, the smell of marijuana was again present and unmistakable.

Based on videotaped evidence that showed Kephart had driven the vehicle to the station despite having a suspended driver's license, police searched the vehicle.

That search allegedly turned up a small amount of marijuana and several cans of beer, the newspaper reported.

'Brainwashed' mayor resigns

Thu, 11/22/2007 - 21:31 by MT Bureau

Centerton, Ark -- An Arkansas mayor who says he was abducted and brainwashed by Satan worshipers has resigned from office.

Centerton Mayor Ken Williams announced Wednesday he would leave the post he was first elected to in 2001, KHBS-TV, Fort Smith, Ark., reported.

Williams said he was born Don LaRose and was working as a preacher in Indiana with a wife and two children when he was abducted and brainwashed by Satanists in the 1970s.

He said he fled to Arkansas after his family was threatened.

"I had no choice. The choice was to watch my family killed before my eyes or go with these people, and I chose instead to run," Williams said.

He said he became Ken Williams in 1980 and had forgotten about his previous life until five years of shock treatments and a recent injection of truth serum revived the memories.

Fugitive bear eludes police

Thu, 11/22/2007 - 20:49 by MT Bureau

Orlando, Fla -- Three police patrol cars responded to a recent bear sighting in Orlando, Fla., but despite their prompt presence, the bruin remains on the lam.

After being spotted by a pair of witnesses in Orlando's College Park Monday, the bear managed to disappear without a trace as police converged on its last reported location, the Orlando Sentinel said Wednesday.

"It was like a crime-scene comedy," witness Mary-Slater Linn said. "They all pulled up and had their guns out, and were looking for a bear."

While police continued their search for the elusive animal, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission representative Joy Hill has attempted to discourage any talk of a "problem bear."

"At this point, the bear doesn't need to be labeled a 'problem bear,'" she told the Sentinel. "It got into the area without getting into too much trouble and there's a good chance it'll be able to find its way out that way, as well."