Hawaii Chevrolet dealer crushes auto competition

HILO, Hawaii – A Hilo Chevrolet dealer who tried to crush his Asian auto competition found the stunt a little harder to pull off than expected.

Island Chevrolet general sales manager James Severtson arranged for a Chevrolet Suburban SUV outfitted with massive tires costing $5,000 apiece to drive over a Honda Accord.

On the first attempt Friday, the monster truck blew a hydraulic hose and leaked vital fluid while the Honda remained intact and ready for more.

After several hours, the truck was repaired and driver Ryan Kepiki tried again, this time with a Hyundai Excel sedan parked next to the Honda.

Kepiki drove over the cars' hoods, destroying the windshields to the seeming delight of the rush-hour crowd.

Severtson said the dealership had been planning the crush-fest for a while. But he said it was a happy coincidence President Bush approved a bailout for U.S. automakers as the weekend arrived.

"We'd like to send the message that the best way to support your country is to buy an American vehicle today," Severtson said. - AP

Residents of Ohio village shower workers with cash

CLEVELAND – Public employees of a well-heeled Ohio village are again beneficiaries of a custom in which residents hand them hefty holiday bonuses.

The 103-year-old Gates Mills Improvement Society hands out the bonuses to the village's workers each year.

The money given out by the society comes from residents, not the village government.

This year the 61 village workers received about $50,000.

The median household income in the quaint village of about 2,500 residents is $134,000.

Gates Mills is about 23 miles east of Cleveland. It was founded in the late 19th century and designed to look like a New England village. - AP

Man dies after retirement party hijinks

TOKYO – A 60-year-old man who was thrown into the air in celebration at his retirement party died after his colleagues failed to catch him and he fell to the floor, a Japanese newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The case came to light after the man's wife filed a police complaint against colleagues who threw the man up into the air, accusing them of gross negligence, the Mainichi paper reported on its website.

The man died in September, 10 months after the party attended by around 40 people at an unnamed transport company at an inn in Ritto, near the ancient capital of Kyoto in central Japan.

The fall damaged his neck and backbone, leaving him paralyzed, and he eventually died of blood poisoning, the paper said.

"He worked until the retirement age. We had been looking forward to going to various places as a couple and were excited that we would be able to spend a relaxing time together," the paper quoted the man's wife as saying.

"No matter what I say he won't come back, but I want to find out why this happened." - Reuters

Lawyer arrested for giving client a piece of candy

PRESCOTT, Ariz. – A lawyer has been arrested after he reportedly ignored orders not to give his shackled client a piece of candy in court, a Yavapai County sheriff's official said. Damon Rossi, 38, was arrested at his home on Thursday, a day after he asked two detention officers if he could feed his client a piece of candy, sheriff's spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn said on Friday. Rossi went ahead and gave the inmate the food despite being warned against it, reportedly asking the officers "what are you going to do, arrest me?"

Detention officers took no action at the time because they didn't want to disrupt court, D'Evelyn said. They turned the matter over the sheriff's criminal division and a decision was made to arrest the lawyer.

"The concern we have is that no contraband should be passed to an inmate," D'Evelyn said. "That's the rule. We don't know what's in it. If we allow attorneys to feed our inmates it would be a security issue — they get fed three squares a day and we don't feed them in court."

Rossi was arrested at his home in Prescott Valley about noon and booked into county jail on a felony count of providing contraband to an inmate. He was released on his own recognizance by early evening on Thursday.

A call to Rossi's office on Friday wasn't immediately returned. - AP

Nuns sue NYC tenants over 'vomit-like' food smells

NEW YORK – Nuns who own a New York City apartment house have filed a lawsuit saying a tenant couple is stinking up the building with "horrible" food smells "similar to that of vomit or rotten meat." The lawsuit by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart Inc. says Gloria and Michael Lim are causing "foul and harmful odors" to come from their 16th floor apartment by cooking and smoking large quantities of fish.

Court papers said one tenant thought a dead body was decomposing in the East 19th Street apartment and called the Fire Department.

The lawsuit asks that the Lims be required to stop causing the "noxious" odors and pay legal fees and damages of at least $50,000.

Andrew Bittens, a lawyer for the nuns, declined to comment, and a call to the Lims wasn't immediately returned. - AP

Man finds cash in same store twice and returns it

AUBURN, Maine – A Maine man found a wallet stuffed with cash on the floor in a home improvement store. Two days later, he found a loaded money bag in the same store. Gil Steward was shopping Tuesday at The Home Depot in Auburn when he spied the wallet, which was stuffed with nearly $1,000 in $100 bills. He returned it to The Home Depot store's service counter, and it was returned to a very grateful owner.

On Thursday, same hour and same store, Steward saw a green money bag on the floor. Again, it was returned to its rightful owner.

His wife, Dee, said her husband thinks he's being tested. As for Steward, he said he plans to play the lottery this weekend. - AP

Job seeker with MBA posts resume in taxi back seat

NEW YORK – Are you talkin' to me — about a job?

A recent MBA graduate who can't find work in his chosen field has resorted to posting his resume inside the taxi he's been driving around New York City.

James Williamson earned his master's degree in business administration at Philadelphia's La Salle University. Then he spent four months on interviews while looking for work troubleshooting electronics, doing technical sales or writing advertising copy.

When none of that panned out, he got his taxi license a month ago to help pay his bills.

The native of Durham, N.C., says he posted his resume in the back seat of his taxi as a last resort, hoping one of his customers might become his employer.

He says he's received a couple of business cards and supportive comments — but no job offers. - AP

Man accused of stabbing himself to frame ex-friend

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. – A young man who told San Clemente police he was jumped and stabbed apparently made up the story in an effort to get an ex-friend in trouble. Lt. Ted Boyne said a 19-year man was arrested Thursday afternoon and booked for investigation of filing a false police report.

Police got an anonymous stabbing call early Thursday and investigators followed a trail of blood to the man, who was bleeding from his hands and arms. The man told investigators he was stabbed by a former friend.

The lieutenant said it was later determined the man used a shard of glass to inflict the wounds on himself.

The nature of the disagreement with his friend wasn't disclosed. - AP

Soul mates: Thieves lift 1,400 pairs of shoes

REDFORD, Mich. – A couple of heels stole a trailer in suburban Detroit and hot-footed away with 1,400 pairs of shoes worth $40,000. Security cameras show at least two men hooking the trailer to their truck early Friday at a loading dock in Redford, then driving away. The trailer was found a couple of blocks away in Detroit.

The shoes belonged to the Mr. Alan's Shoes & Sportswear, a retail chain with eight locations in southeast Michigan. CEO Roger Turner told Detroit's WDIV-TV that he's not surprised by the theft, and that in tough economic times anything is possible.

Police are investigating. - AP

Students get sick after eating peer-prepared food

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Students at one Birmingham school can honestly say homework made them sick. Nearly half of the students in a Smith Middle School language arts class became ill Friday after tasting meals that students had prepared as part of an assignment.

Birmingham schools spokeswoman Michaelle Chapman said the students were to write about their favorite dish and how it was prepared. The teacher allowed them to make and bring the dish to class if they wished.

Of the 18 students, 16 of them brought in dishes and eight students got sick after tasting them.

Chapman said it's unknown which dishes caused the students to have gastrointestinal problems including vomiting.

The students' parents were called and they were taken to their personal doctors' offices.

Chapman said health officials came and collected samples of the food for testing. - AP

NYC fashion boutique: free soup, designer pants

NEW YORK – You know the economy is ailing when a Manhattan fashion boutique starts offering free soup.

The temporary fashion boutique calling itself The 1929 is selling chic clothes and giving away soup and coffee. The store is located in one of the trendiest shopping districts in the city.

Manager and co-owner Aaron Genuth says the store in SoHo was inspired by the Great Depression. His partner Levi Okunov says they want people to go to the store, have a bowl of soup and try on some clothing.

The store sells the work of independent designers on its ground floor. The basement is an art and performance space where the free nourishment is doled out.

The store is expected to remain open through next month. - AP

Man arrested after cops find crack in his vomit

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A 25-year-old Detroit-area man literally spilled his guts to police and was arrested on a drug charge after officers found crack cocaine in his vomit. Police said the man swallowed the drugs after a short car and foot chase Tuesday about 20 miles northeast of Detroit.

Clinton Township police caught and were questioning the man when he threw up the crack cocaine and other contents of his stomach. The drugs were picked from the mess.

The man was jailed after being arraigned Wednesday on a controlled substance charge. He has requested a court-appointed attorney. - AP

Man says God ordered him to ram vehicle at 100 mph

SAN ANTONIO – A man who rammed his truck into a woman's vehicle on a highway early Friday told authorities he crashed into her while going more than 100 mph because God told him "she needed to be taken off the road."

The truck rear-ended the car on U.S. Highway 281, both vehicles spun across a median then came to a stop along a barrier in the opposite lanes. Both drivers suffered only minor injuries.

"He just said God said she wasn't driving right, and she needed to be taken off the road," Bexar County Sheriff's Office spokesman Kyle Coleman said in the online edition of the San Antonio Express-News. "God must have been with them, 'cause any other time, the severity of this crash, it would have been a fatal."

The pickup driver did not tell police how the woman was driving. Police could not find alcohol or drugs in either driver.

A psychiatric evaluation has been ordered for a man. - AP

Car's drunken drivers have NY police seeing double

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. – Police on Long Island say they've pulled two drunken drivers from one car.

Nassau County officers say they spotted a woman trying to make a three-point turn on a road in East Meadow. They say that when she couldn't complete the maneuver, she switched places with a male passenger, who took the steering wheel and completed the turn while not wearing a seat belt.

Police pulled them over and charged them with drunken driving.

As police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey put it, "We have two individuals arrested for driving the same car intoxicated."

The man and the woman were arraigned Friday on driving while intoxicated and other charges.

The woman was ordered held on $1,000 bail. The man was ordered held on $5,000 bail.

They're due back in court Tuesday. - AP

Deer gets revenge after hunter shoots him

SEDALIA, Mo. – A hunter bagged a big buck on the second day of firearms season, but the kill caused him a lot of pain. Randy Goodman, 49, said he thought two well-placed shots with his .270-caliber rifle had killed the buck on Nov. 19. Goodman said the deer looked dead to him, but seconds later the nine-point, 240-pound animal came to life.

The buck rose up, knocked Goodman down and attacked him with his antlers in what the veteran hunter called "15 seconds of hell." The deer ran a short distance and went down, and died after Goodman fired two more shots.

Soon Goodman started feeling dizzy and noticed his vest was soaked in blood.

So he reached his truck and drove to a hospital, where he received seven staples in his scalp and was treated for a slight concussion and bruises. - AP

Truffle fetches 130,000 pounds at auction

ROME (Reuters) – Defying the economic downturn, an Italian white truffle weighing just over 1 kg (2.2 lb) sold at an international auction Saturday for $200,000 (130,000 pounds).

The prized tuber went for the second year running to Hong Kong-born casino mogul Stanley Ho after an auction held simultaneously in Rome, London, Abu Dhabi and Macau, auction organisers said.

Last December, Ho bought a 1.5-kg specimen -- one of the biggest truffles unearthed in half a century -- for a record $330,000.

The 1.08-kg truffle -- the biggest found in Italy this year -- was flown first class to Macau, with an Italian chef accompanying it, for Saturday's auction after it was picked on November 21 in the central Molise region.

Truffles can vary considerably in size and are prized in Italian cooking for their flavour and aroma.

Output of white truffles -- which are not cultivated and only grow naturally in forests -- has fallen in Italy over the past few years, largely because climate change has brought a damaging mix of drought and torrential rains.

Scarce supply has pushed prices for normal-sized truffles above 4,000 euros (3,307 pounds) for one kg and Italian restaurants have kept purchases to a minimum, although demand from foreign restaurants has remained stable, truffle associations say. - AP