TWW'S CRAZY NEWS STORIES

[TexasStooge]

Russian pays mystics "to lift curse"

MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) - Russian police are looking for two mystics who persuaded a student to part with over 91,000 pounds in exchange for lifting a curse, RIA news agency reported on Sunday.

"Two unknown women, on the pretext of lifting a curse, stole cash and some jewellery by means of deception. The total amount stolen is estimated at 4.48 million roubles (61,000 pounds)," the agency quoted a police source as saying.

The victim is a female student at Moscow's elite State Institute for International Affairs, RIA said. Many Russians are highly superstitious. They spend huge sums each year on faith healers and alternative medicine.

[TexasStooge]

"Olympic" pigs put through their paces

MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) - Hundreds of Russians gathered for the first day of the annual "pig Olympics" on Saturday, cheering a field of 12 piglets who competed in three events: pig-racing, pig-swimming and "pigball".

Each pig was carried into the arena, squealing angrily and dressed in its own numbered bib, while Muscovites laid bets on challengers such as Mykola from Ukraine, Nelson -- representing South Africa -- and the home favourite, Kostik Russisch Schwein.

In pigball, contestants chase a sweet-tasting soccer ball around an enclosed arena with their snouts, scoring when the ball goes into a goal.

The pig-admirers included ultra-nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who put 100 roubles (2.05 pounds) on Borka to win the running race, in honour of one of his political rivals.

"I've always loved pigs, all my life. I had four or five when I was a kid," he told Reuters.

Alexei Sharshkov, vice-president of the Sport-Pig Federation, which claims 100 members, said the competitors had a happy future ahead of them, win or lose.

"They go on to produce a new generation of sport pigs. They don't get eaten," he promised. "How could you eat a competitor who is known around the world?"

[TexasStooge]

4th-grader's truancy brings charge

Frisco: Mother who says son has severe allergies to appear in court

By KAREN AYRES / The Dallas Morning News

FRISCO, Texas – Gayle Arebalo said she kept her son Mark home from school many times this year because of his severe allergies.

Now, she may pay for it in court.

The Frisco mom was recently charged with contributing to her son's nonattendance after the fourth-grader missed 19 days of school between late August and early March. She faces a possible $250 fine and other punishment when she appears in court on Wednesday.

Ms. Arebalo said Mark, 10, stayed home from Fisher Elementary School because his allergies often lead to fevers. She sent excuse notes, but Mark did not always deliver them.

School district officials declined to comment on the specific case, but they said the district files truancy charges as a last resort after trying to work the situation out with parents.

Ms. Arebalo, 47, said she didn't know she was in jeopardy of court action until a few weeks ago when a police officer arrived at her front door with a summons.

"I was stunned," said the mother of three. "I feel like everything has been legislated to the point that it's become ridiculous."

Under state law, school districts can pursue charges against parents when students are absent 10 or more times within six months, or three or more days within a four-week period. Excused absences are not supposed to be counted in those rules.

Frisco ISD officials said the district sends notices to parents and calls them to let them know if their child is nearing the threshold of unexcused absences.

"If you don't get a note or documentation, it's hard to know what's going on and to be helpful," said Shana McKay-Wortham, district spokeswoman.

School officials stressed that it's very unusual for the district to pursue charges at the elementary level.

"We can only go so far," Assistant Superintendent Doug Zambiasi said. "But if we don't get cooperation or people think what we're doing is a joke, they're probably going to have to explain that to a judge."

Ms. Arebalo said she received two notices from the school about the truancy policy, but she assumed Mark's absences were cleared since she had sent notes. Once she got the summons, she said she provided new notes to school officials.

But the wheels of the court prosecution were already rolling. When she arrived in Frisco Municipal Court on April 4, Ms. Arebalo said, Judge Adrianna Goodland told her that the case couldn't be dismissed.

A court worker said last week the judge would not comment on pending cases, but Mr. Zambiasi confirmed that city officials told district officials to pick truancy cases carefully because they would be pursued.

Ms. Arebalo's hearing was postponed until 10 a.m. on Wednesday. She faces two choices: She can plead guilty, pay a $250 fine and get six months' probation, or she can plead not guilty and go to trial.

Ms. Arebalo said last week she intends to plead not guilty and present her excuse notes as well as information from Mark's doctor to the judge.

"I just want to make this go away," she said.

State law specifically says that parents can show the absences were excused as part of their defense.

DeEtta Culbertson, a spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency, said punishment has varied. Some judges have sent parents to jail over the weekends; others have required them to go to school with their children. Most judges have assessed fines or community service.

"It's your parental responsibility to make sure your kids are in school," Ms. Culbertson said. "The whole purpose of the truancy law is to get students into school where they belong."

[TexasStooge]

There once was a very small city

DUBLIN, Ireland (Reuters) - An exodus of rugby fans from Limerick in Ireland threatens its status as a city, and the European funding that goes with it, when a population census is taken Sunday.

Diarmuid Scully, mayor of Limerick in western Ireland, told Reuters as many as 20,000 fans could follow the regional team Munster to Dublin Sunday for the Heineken Cup semi-final against Leinster.

Many could stay on to celebrate -- or to drown their sorrows -- knocking Limerick's population of 54,000 below a crucial threshold of 50,000, he added.

"At the time April 23 was picked, it probably seemed like a quiet night," he told Reuters. "Unfortunately for Limerick people, quite a lot of us won't be at home that night. Quite a number would stay on to celebrate if it's a Munster victory."

Scully called on Limerick rugby fans to return home after the match.

"Should the population drop below 50,000, then Limerick wouldn't be considered a city anymore by European standards, and we'd actually lose out in terms of European funding," he added.

Scully said census rules allowed forms to be completed on the following Monday morning, and he called on census officials to be lenient.

"I'm asking for a flexible interpretation of the morning -- let morning stretch throughout the day," he said. "Let it stretch until midnight."

[TexasStooge]

Where's the Sheriff of Nottingham?

LONDON, England (Reuters) - Nottingham is the most burglary-prone city in Britain, according to a survey published Tuesday.

The city's residents are more than twice as likely as the national average to make a claim for household theft, the figures from insurance company Endsleigh showed.

Hull and Leeds are the next worst affected areas, with the risk of burglaries 89 percent and 66 percent, respectively, higher than Endsleigh's national average.

However, the company said the most burglary-prone cities had shown above average improvements in crime rates and it expected this trend to continue.

Guildford, Coventry and Edinburgh came in as the areas least likely to be hit by household theft, with claims more than 40 percent below the national average.

Northampton residents turned out to be the most accident-prone in the survey, with a claim rate nearly 40 percent higher than the company's national average.

[TexasStooge]

Leave the Cyprus cypress alone.

NICOSIA (Reuters) - The Cypriot tradition of cutting down trees at Easter to make bonfires for effigies of Judas Iscariot is being attacked by the island's Green party, which says it damages the environment.

The Environmentalists Party urged authorities to intervene Tuesday after getting reports trees were being felled for firewood at celebrations after Orthodox Easter mass celebrated on April 23.

This year people cut down two 200-year old terebinths, or turpentines, and cypress trees on an estate belonging to President Tassos Papadopoulos, the party said.

"It is really an issue of educating people. Some might regard it as an easy solution for firewood, seeing a tall tree and saying, 'oh, I'll cut that one down'," said party spokeswoman Ioanna Panayiotou, adding "Its a yearly phenomenon."

People who cut down trees illegally face jail terms under Cypriot law.

But in rural areas youths compete to make the biggest pyre, known as a "lambradjia" and place on top an effigy of Judas Iscariot, the disciple whom Christians believe betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

[TexasStooge]

Police find antiquities haul on remote island

By Karolos Grohmann

ATHENS, Greece (Reuters) - Greek authorities have found a hoard of ancient Mediterranean art in a villa on a remote island in what they suspect is one of the most important cases of antiquities smuggling for years.

The Culture Ministry said 99 objects had been recovered in a police raid at the weekend on the tiny Aegean island of Schinoussa.

"This is a huge collection," Culture Minister George Voulgarakis said, describing it one of the most "complex and complicated cases of antiquities smuggling" in recent years.

"Cultural goods belong to everyone. They should not be smuggled," he said.

Voulgarakis said the 99 artifacts, original or copies, included several Ionic and Corinthian columns, Byzantine icons and dozens of ancient marble objects.

Police also found a marble sculpting workshop that had been operated in the compound to make copies, and there was evidence that the artifacts had been used for commercial purposes without the required license, he added.

"There is important evidence, including ... seals, packages that show commercial exploitation," Voulgarakis said.

Investigators were still searching the grounds of the villa for more items.

The villa was once owned by collectors who had connections with Marion True, former antiquities curator at the J. Paul Getty Trust, one of the world's richest art institutes.

But police said there were no links with an investigation into charges that True conspired with dealers trafficking in stolen antiquities. Police raided True's Greek villa earlier this month and said they found several unlicensed ancient artifacts.

True, who resigned last year and is on trial in Italy, denies the charges against her.

[TexasStooge]

City Hall robbers crack open ATMs for Easter

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - In crime-plagued Rio de Janeiro, the City Hall is not immune from robberies, not even on Easter.

Police said on Monday that a group of between 10 and 15 armed masked people raided the lobby of one of the City Hall complex buildings the previous day, taking some 35 people hostage as they opened several automatic teller machines and then fled with an unspecified sum in cash.

The assailants took 15 guards and over 20 maintenance workers hostage during the raid that lasted about 40 minutes. Rio's municipal guards carry no firearms. The assailants also stole one of the guards' motorcycles.

That was the second attack on the complex in two months. In February, an armed guard from a cash transporting company was killed and three people were wounded in an intense shootout outside City Hall when a gang tried to hold up a cash truck.

[TexasStooge]

Hawaii May Honor Humuhumunukunukuapuaa

HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) - The humuhumunukunukuapuaa officially lost its title as the state fish more than a decade ago but is set to reclaim the honor.

A bill reinstating the critter — known as humuhumu for short — passed the Legislature on Monday and heads next to the office of Gov. Linda Lingle for a signature.

The little fish with the long name was deposed in 1990 by a clause in the law that gave it its crown, which made the measure expire after five years.

But few in the state were aware of the change and the fish, also known as the rectangular triggerfish, and it has continued to be touted as Hawaii's state fish.

The measure is credited by its introducer, Rep. Blake Oshiro, to the 6-year-old son of a friend and constituent, Joel Itomura. It was Itomura who brought the lack of an official designation for the humuhumu to the attention of Oshiro, D-Aiea-Halawa.

Lingle now has 10 days to potentially veto the bill.
_____________________________________________________________

"Humuhumunukunukuapuaa!" Say that 10 times faster.

[TexasStooge]

Woman Without Power, Water Raises Llamas

UNADILLA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - There's not much Marie McCluskey wouldn't do for her llamas. The former probation officer from Livingston County has lived for nearly five months in a home without electricity, water or heat following a fire so that she could stay with her herd.

McCluskey is the owner of Whimsical Gardens, a 25-acre farm where she breeds llamas, which she sells for wool and other uses, but not for meat.

McCluskey has had to struggle to care for her nearly 50 llamas since late November, when an electrical fire broke out in her home, which was built in the 1860s. The house was severely damaged by smoke and water.

For the first few days, she stayed in a motel, but quickly returned to her herd.

"I decided I was not going to leave my livestock," she told the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus of Howell.

McCluskey was able to have a meter for her well turned back on, but she pumped that water to her animals. For her own needs, she connected a hose to a neighbor's well across the street.

McCluskey's home still has no electricity or running water, and her belongings are stacked in piles throughout the house. She said an ongoing battle over insurance has required her to leave the home as it was after the fire so that it can be re-appraised.

But if McCluskey has her way, she'll never have another cold winter. Before the fire, she was researching technology that would burn llama dung for heating fuel — a project she hopes to resume soon.
___

Information from: Livingston County Daily Press & Argus

[TexasStooge]

Homeless Man Returns Wallet With $900

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A homeless man searching through garbage bins for recyclable cans found a missing wallet and had it returned to its owner.

Kim Bogue, who works as a janitor in the city's government buildings, realized that her wallet was missing last week and doubted she'd ever get back the $900 and credit cards inside, she said.

"I prayed that night and asked God to help me," said Bogue, who was saving the money for a trip to her native Thailand.

Days later, a homeless man found the wallet wrapped in a plastic bag in a trash bin, where Bogue had accidentally thrown it away with her lunch. He gave it to Sherry Wesley, who works in a nearby building.

"He came to me with the wad of money and said, 'This probably belongs to someone that you work with, can you return it,'" Wesley said.

Workers at a nearby relief kitchen said the man, who didn't want to be identified, insists on paying for his food.

"He has a very good heart," said Bogue, who gave the man a $100 reward. "If someone else found it, the money would be gone."

[TexasStooge]

Slow-speed chase winds through East Dallas

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/DallasNews.com) - Two people in a car reported to be stolen led police on a slow-speed chase through parts of Mesquite and East Dallas Tuesday morning.

Police said the pursuit began around 7:40 a.m. in Mesquite after the vehicle refused to pull over when officers attempted a traffic stop.

The chase wound along Interstate 30 and various streets in Far East Dallas including Fitzhugh Avenue, Haskell Avnenue and Military Parkway.

After all but two squad cars and a Dallas police helicopter dropped out of the chase, the vehicle pulled over around 8 a.m. and two suspects were taken into custody without incident.

WFAA-TV contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Man Rediscovers Gift Fruitcake From 1962

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) - Lance Nesta did what many people do when receiving a fruitcake — he set it aside, only to rediscover it more than 40 years later in his mother's attic. Nesta couldn't resist taking a peek at the cake, still in its original tin and wrapped in paper.

"I was amazed that it hadn't changed at all," he said.

Nesta's two aunts sent him the fruitcake in November 1962 while he was stationed in Alaska with the Army.

"I opened it up and didn't know what to do with it," Nesta said. "I sure wasn't going to eat it, and I liked my fellow soldiers too much to share it with them."

As best he can remember, he packed the cake with the rest of his belongings and shipped it home to Waukesha when he left the military a few years later. He recently rediscovered the boxed fruitcake in the attic of his mother's home in Waukesha.

His mom had given him advance warning of the fruitcake back in 1962.

"She knew I hated the damn things, but she said she didn't have the heart to tell my aunts, who had already mailed it," he said.

The cake arrived wrapped in brown paper with a red "fragile, handle with care" sticker on it. The cake itself was contained in a round blue tin printed with the words "Old Fashioned Fruitcake."

"Now it's just old," Nesta said.

While looking at the cake's container this week, he noticed the listed ingredients included rum and brandy.

"If I had known back then that it had rum and brandy in it, I would have eaten it," he said.
___

Information from: Waukesha Freeman

[TexasStooge]

B'Stard drops Conservatives for Blair

By Paul Majendie

LONDON, England (Reuters) - The most self-serving and principle-free parliamentarian ever to disgrace the House of Commons is back and he'll do whatever it takes to keep Prime Minister Tony Blair in power.

The despicable spoof Conservative politician Alan B'Stard, who mocked the "Greed is Good" era of rampant capitalism and pilloried Margaret Thatcher's government in a television satire, has defected to the Labour Party and the theatre.

Writers Maurice Gran and Laurence Marks felt the time was right to revive their most odious creation, played by comedian Rik Mayall, and now it is Blair's turn to face the flak from a man whose support might be more of a hindrance than a help.

In the popular television series that ended in the early Nineties, B'Stard was pure slime in a pinstripe suit. Mayall's character was a member of parliament whose lust for power was only matched by his penchant for devious schemes and an unerring ability to sniff out political advantage.

In the new stage play the suit is the same but the "minister without portfolio or scruple" now sports a Labour rosette.

With Blair's government embroiled in a row over claims that peerages were awarded to Labour party donors, Gran said he relished the fortuitous timing for the opening of "The New Statesman - Episode 2006:The Blair B'Stard Project" in Brighton on Wednesday.

"The timing of our play could not be better," he told Reuters ahead of the first night. "It is good to kick them when they are down. When else do you kick someone?"

After Labour spent 18 years in the political wilderness, Blair swept to power in 1997 promising a sleaze-free administration. Something which Gran says has made the government ripe for parody.

"If you ride into town on a white horse with a white hat and waving a white banner, you are going to disappoint people more than if you came in on the bus," Gran said. "Labour were riding for a fall.

"I don't know what the Labour Party is any more. It is really a bunch of people who are told after 18 months the best way to give up smoking is to cut your hands off. They have abandoned most of what they believe in," he said.

Gran thinks B'Stard succeeded as a popular icon symbolising the greed of an ego-driven generation because of his complete lack of hypocrisy.

"Saying what you mean, however grotesque, carries a certain aura," he said.

Gran and Marks once had to rewrite one television series after Thatcher was toppled by her own party. Gran hopes Blair -- who has vowed to step down before an election expected in 2009 -- does not jump ship early.

"As an exponent of commercial theatre I am rooting for Tony to keep going as long as the show. I quite like having him there to take the mickey out of," he said.

But he poured scorn on Blair's potential successors.

"When you go through the sorry catalogue of possible alternatives, you realise this is a pretty mediocre bunch. At the peak of Thatcherism, she at least had a bunch of heavyweights. This is a bunch of jokers," he said.

[TexasStooge]

China's Hu turns Starbucks promoter

MEDINA, Washington (Reuters) - Less than 24 hours into his visit to Seattle, Chinese President Hu Jintao was already serving as a pitchman for the city's homegrown Starbucks Corp.

Speaking to business executives, politicians and other dignitaries during a dinner on Tuesday at the home of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, Hu expressed his desire to be a regular at the ubiquitous coffee-store chain.

"Starbucks coffee shops have mushroomed in China's cities," said the Chinese leader through a translator.

"If I were not serving in this office, I would certainly prefer to go into one of the coffee shops run by Starbucks," said the usually reserved Hu, drawing laughter from the crowd, which included Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz.

Starbucks, based in Seattle, opened its first store in China in 1999 and now has close to 400 shops there. It expects the country will eventually be its largest overseas market.

Hu arrived in Seattle earlier on Tuesday and toured the Microsoft campus before a dinner at Gates' lakeside mansion with about 100 guests, including former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Sen. Maria Cantwell (news, bio, voting record) of Washington state.

Security was tight.

Bomb-sniffing dogs surveyed the grounds before the guests arrived and a U.S. Coast Guard boat guarded the water surrounding the lodge-style home.

Guests held champagne flutes filled with Dom Perignon while Washington state Gov. Chris Gregoire and Hu exchanged toasts.

Hu emphasized the goals the United States and China shared and thanked Gates for "providing this elegant venue with both traditional arts and modern technology and fine tastes."

The guests were then served a three-course meal, starting with a smoked guinea fowl salad, a choice of beef filet with Walla Walla onions or Alaskan halibut and spot prawns before a dessert of rhubarb brown butter almond cake.

[TexasStooge]

Idaho Man Finally Reaches 100-Pound Mark

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) - A 5-foot-9, 22-year-old man who eats 6,500 calories a day — two and a half times the average intake for an adult male — has earned a special reward for breaking the 100-pound mark:

Dinner out from his mom.

"I'm a medical mystery," said Matt Chaffee, who weighed in at 101 pounds on Saturday. "I've accepted it."

Chaffee, who has a 26-inch waist, had several health problems as a newborn. One of them, pyloric stenosis, prevents food from emptying out of the stomach. The condition and ulcers he developed in his esophagus reduced his ability to gain weight.

Chaffee weighed 8 pounds when he was 4 months old, and 17 pounds when he reached kindergarten, his mother said. He was up to 85 pounds at age 14, but couldn't participate in some activities, including swimming.

"He sinks like a rock," his mother, Kelley Chaffee, told the Post Register.

Since turning 18 his goal has been to go over 100 pounds. He achieved that on a diet that included 5,000 calories a day in protein shakes.

"He was so happy," Kelley Chaffee said.

Sandi Birch, a registered dietitian at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, said most of the people she deals with are not trying to put on weight.

"Its far more common to have the opposite problem," she said.

Matt Chaffee is an Eastern Idaho Technical College student and WinCo Foods cashier who works out five days a week and can bench press 130 pounds. He uses his bike for daily transportation.

He said he'll stop drinking the protein shakes if he reaches 120 pounds. Until then, he said he'll continue to wear long johns in the summer that help him conserve heat and prevent illness.

Kelley Chaffee said she will continue to search for clothes in her son's size that make him look his best.

"He doesn't look good in Wranglers," she said.
___

Information from: Post Register

[TexasStooge]

Hunter Turns Rufus the Turkey Into Dinner

CULDESAC, Idaho (AP) - For six months, Rufus the wild turkey beguiled area residents and served as unofficial greeter, pet and tourist attraction at the Jacques Spur Junction Cafe. But someone decided to turn him into dinner on the opening day of turkey hunting season Saturday.

"I heard the shot and got up to look down the street and saw a guy wrestling with a turkey," Sarah Berna, a waitress at the northern Idaho cafe, told the Lewiston Tribune. "I knew it was Rufus."

Berna said the hunter was an older man who drove an older model Chevy Blazer with Idaho plates, parked about 50 yards from the cafe in Culdesac, about 10 miles east of Lewiston. Rufus put up a fight, Berna said, even as he was grabbed by a leg and thrown through the top hatch of the Blazer.

"He was still alive, so I hope he scratched up the inside of that Blazer," Berna said. "It was all over in about a minute."

Berna called authorities, but Nez Perce County sheriff's deputies said there was no evidence a crime had been committed.

Rufus will be remembered.

"Everybody is pretty sad around here," said Paula Heinzerling, an owner of the cafe. "The customers looked terrible when they heard the news."

Rufus was the last member of a five-bird flock that appeared in the area in October, eating grain that blew off semi trucks. He eventually discovered that food was easier to come by in the parking lot of the cafe.

Rufus' pluck and boldness carried him through Thanksgiving as diners feasted on turkey while watching Rufus in the parking lot. He eventually started walking up to the car doors to look inside, and restaurant patrons responded by getting "turkey bags" for Rufus when they left.

Rufus, however, was a discriminating eater, turning down broccoli and cracked corn, but accepting grapes, sunflower seeds and leaves.

"I know it's hunting season, but I know we're going to miss Rufus," said Jean Ballard, who lives near the cafe and gave Rufus his name. "I hope the guy is proud of himself."
___

Information from: Lewiston Tribune

[TexasStooge]

Third-Grader Takes Teacher's Van for Ride

MODESTO, Calif. (AP) - An 8-year-old boy swiped his teacher's car keys and took her minivan for a joyride, cruising safely home and into the record books as the city's youngest auto thief, police said.

The third-grader told officers he "just wanted to drive around for a while" when he left the James Marshall School on Monday, officer Michael Amarillas said.

The diminutive driver snatched the keys from teacher Caren Brady's purse when she turned her back to the class. In order to operate the Dodge Caravan, he raised the driver's seat, lowered the steering wheel, adjusted the rearview mirror and turned off the radio.

"This is the smallest child you can ever imagine," said Brady, who noticed her vehicle missing a couple hours after school. "I don't think this kid is 4 feet tall. He's tiny; he's the tiniest kid in the class."

The boy, whose identity was not released, was suspended from school, Brady said. Nothing was damaged and no one was hurt and police said they wouldn't charge him with a crime.

A neighbor saw the boy driving and called police. Officers found the van parked in front of the house, which is less than a mile from the school. They lectured the boy after interviewing him.

"You can't do anything but laugh," said Brady, who spent 90 minutes Tuesday teaching other pupils about the consequences of choices they make. She said she wouldn't let the boy return to her class.
___

Information from: The Modesto Bee

[TexasStooge]

Wis. Man Pleads No Contest Over Showerhead

APPLETON, Wis. (AP) - A man accused of forcing a removable showerhead into his girlfriend's mouth and turning on the water pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges of false imprisonment and disorderly conduct.

As part of a plea agreement, a judge dismissed two felony charges of first-degree reckless endangerment and substantial battery against Delvin L. Debruin, 47, of Appleton.

Outagamie County Circuit Judge John Des Jardins scheduled sentencing for May 30. Prosecutors said they will seek a prison term of four years plus four years extended supervision.

The girlfriend had spent the night at Debruin's home in January but decided to leave around 5 a.m. because Debruin was acting strangely, according to the criminal complaint.

Before the 39-year-old Appleton woman could leave, Debruin dragged her into the bathroom shower and punched her in the face, the complaint said.

He then removed the showerhead, turned on the water and jammed the nozzle into her mouth until water came out of her nostrils, according to the complaint.

He released her but grabbed her hand, squeezing it until it cracked, the complaint said. The woman managed to leave the home and received treatment for a broken hand.
___

Information from: The Post-Crescent

[TexasStooge]

Hardee's Sandwich Piles Meat on More Meat

By JIM SALTER, AP Business Writer

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - As if the Hardee's family of Monster Thickburgers didn't offer enough meat, the company's latest version adds steak meat on top of an already large slab of beef.

The meat-on-meat Philly Cheesesteak Thickburger, launched Tuesday, features one-third of a pound of Angus beef, along with both Swiss and American cheeses, green peppers and onions. And piled atop all of that is thinly sliced steak meat.

"We actually found in this case, the only way to make a burger taste like a cheesesteak was to literally put the steak on it," said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for the St. Louis-based chain.

Not surprisingly, the sandwich isn't for the diet-conscious. It contains 930 calories, along with 63 grams of fat, and 24 grams of saturated fat. That's a full day's worth of the recommended amount of fat, and almost half the recommended 2,000 calories.

By Hardee's standards, it's not that extreme. The chain's Monster Thickburger has 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat. Overall, Hardee's offers five sandwiches with more than 1,000 calories.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based advocate for nutrition and health, said Hardee's continues to add unhealthy offerings at a time when the nation is suffering from an obesity epidemic.

"What's next — a pork chop on top?" CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley asked. "I'm always amazed — they can always go one step further than I can imagine."

As usual, Hardee's makes no apologies.

"We have salads on our menu, we have charbroiled chicken breast and a variety of low-carb options," Haley said. "But we don't see anything wrong with making the delicious, decadent burger available to people who want it.

"You almost get two sandwiches for the price of one."

The Philly Cheesesteak Thickburger is being offered for only the next three to five months, though Haley said it will last longer if customer demand is there. It sells for $3.99, or $5.79 with fries and a drink.

The chain is a division of CKE Restaurants Inc., based in Carpinteria, Calif. CKE operates 3,160 restaurants in 43 states and 13 countries, including 1,993 Hardee's restaurants.
___

On the Net:

CKE Restaurants Inc.

Hardee's

Center for Science in the Public Interest