Christmas card arrives 93 years late

A postcard featuring a color drawing of Santa Claus and a young girl was mailed in 1914, but its journey was slower than Christmas. It just arrived in northwest Kansas.

The Christmas card was dated Dec. 23, 1914, and mailed to Ethel Martin of Oberlin, apparently from her cousins in Alma, Neb.

It's a mystery where it spent most of the last century, Oberlin Postmaster Steve Schultz said. "It's surprising that it never got thrown away," he said. "How someone found it, I don't know."

Ethel Martin is deceased, but Schultz said the post office wanted to get the card to a relative.

That's how the 93-year-old relic ended up with Bernice Martin, Ethel's sister-in-law. She said she believed the card had been found somewhere in Illinois.

"That's all we know," she said. "But it is kind of curious. We'd like to know how it got down there."

The card was placed inside another envelope with modern postage for the trip to Oberlin — the one-cent postage of the early 20th century wouldn't have covered it, Martin said.

"We don't know much about it," she said. "But wherever they kept it, it was in perfect shape."

Source Yahoo News

Surgery over; Youssif's biggest scar removed

Five-year-old Youssif underwent his most important surgery Thursday as his doctor removed the most extensive scar tissue on his face -- putting him on the path of being a normal boy again.

Youssif entered the operating room around 6:30 a.m. PT for the three-and-a-half hour surgery.

Just before the surgery began, Youssif began crying.

"I can't do this. I can't do this," he said.

Sedation then set in, he relaxed and Dr. Peter Grossman, the plastic surgeon with the Grossman Burn Center who is donating his services, began to operate.

He removed two saline-filled balloons placed in Youssif's neck and face that provided more good skin by stretching it. The largest balloon was about the size of a soda can.

Grossman then cut out the scar tissue and pulled up Youssif's healthy skin.

The doctor was amazed at how thick the scar tissue was -- about half an inch thick -- and "hard as wood."

When the tissue was removed, Youssif's jaw immediately relaxed, raising hopes that he will soon be able to eat normally again.

"The bottom part of his face looks like the old Youssif. He has a jaw line again. It's unbelievable," CNN's Arwa Damon said after coming out of the operating room.

The surgery ended around 10 a.m. PT.
Ahead of the surgery, Grossman was excited for Youssif. "This will be the most significant of the surgeries," he said.

One of the scars removed extended more than half a foot, stretching from his right ear around to his left cheek.
Read the Rest Here.

Read the original story of what happened to Youssif.

Ga. Man Tries to Deposit Fake $1M Bill

A bank teller in Clearwater had a million reasons not to open an account for an Augusta, Ga., man Monday, authorities said. Alexander D. Smith, 31, was charged with disorderly conduct and two counts of forgery after he walked into the bank and tried to open an account by depositing a fake $1 million bill, said Aiken County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Michael Frank.

The employee refused to open the account and called police while the man started to curse at bank workers, Frank said.

The second forgery charge came after investigators learned Smith bought several cartons of cigarettes from a nearby grocery store with a stolen check, Frank said.

The federal government has never printed a million-dollar bill, Frank said.



Article found here.

1 year later, 4 Atlantic City prostitute deaths remain unsolved

On Nov. 20. 2006, the bodies of four prostitutes were found face-down in a drainage ditch behind a string of seedy motels on the Black Horse Pike, just outside the Atlantic City limits. One had been strangled with a rope or cord, and another was asphyxiated, although the medical examiner's office could not say exactly how. The cause of death for the other two could not be pinpointed because they had been in the water too long. All four cases are being investigated as homicides.

WHAT HAPPENED SINCE: Authorities have refused to speculate on whether they believe a serial killer is to blame, even though the bodies were placed in the water at different times, based on the rate of decomposition. Three of the four were blonde, and all abused drugs and alcohol. A task force has interviewed several people, but prosecutors have never publicly identified anyone as a suspect or "person of interest." A Salem County handyman who says they accused him of killing the women was jailed in April on an unrelated charge of secretly videotaping his ex-girlfriend's 15-year-old daughter nude. Terry Oleson was allowed to go free last month after pleading guilty to invasion of privacy and will be sentenced in two weeks. He gave investigators DNA samples in June; they still won't say what the test results show, but his lawyer says if police had anything on Oleson, he's still be behind bars.

WHO ELSE?: Atlantic County authorities won't say who they have questioned in the case, but Oleson's lawyer says another man, already in jail, confessed to the killings. The man says he turned over recordings of the alleged confession to prosecutors, but they won't say if they find them credible or not.

Story found here.

Who were these ladies.

Dog Washing Machine?

What do you think about this? Would you put your doggie in it?

8-limbed Girl has Successful Surgery

I'm glad to hear this little girl is ok and that the operation was successful.

OJ Simpson has been arrested!

WCBS NEWSRADIO 880 - Schumer Wants More Help for Struggling Homeowners

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Charles Schumer urged federal regulators Wednesday to do more to help certain homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments.

The Democratic senator from New York made his plea in a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, two men at the forefront of efforts to make sure the credit crunch that has rocked Wall Street doesn't undermine the economy.

Schumer asked Paulson and Bernanke to support a plan in Congress to provide $100 million to nonprofit housing groups to help troubled subprime borrowers, those with blemished credit histories, to refinance their homes.

Those borrowers have been hardest hit [LA Times] as interest rates have risen and home values have weakened. As a result, foreclosures and late payments have soared. The credit crunch, which started with these homeowners, has spread to other borrowers.

Schumer said the $100 million, which would be contained in a Senate appropriations package, may not be sufficient. He called on the Bush administration to ``come up quick additional financing.''

Schumer, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, also called upon policymakers to use their powers of persuasion to get financial institutions to pony up money.

``I urge you to use your leverage over financial institutions, whether banks, lenders, servicers or brokerages, to encourage them to match the federal government's efforts to provide funding to nonprofit group working to prevent foreclosures, and to work with the nonprofits to help borrowers who need ... loan modifications,'' Schumer wrote.

He said he intends to offer legislation when Congress returns next month to boost investment caps on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ``to increase their flexibility to participate in loan modifications with borrowers and lending institutions.'' The administration has so far been opposed to raising the caps. The two mortgage giants a few years ago suffered multibillion-dollar accounting scandals.

Take Blog Action!!!

On October 15th - Blog Action Day, bloggers around the web will unite to tackle the issue of the environment.

What can you do?

You can participate on Blog Action Day in one of two ways:



1. Publish a post on their blog which relates to an issue of their own choice pertaining to the environment.

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Posts do not need to have any specific agenda, they simply need to relate to the larger issue in whatever way suits the blogger and readership. Our aim is not to promote one particular viewpoint, only to push the issue to the table for discussion.
2. Commit to donating their day’s advertising earnings to an environmental charity of their choice. There is a list of "official" Blog Action Day charities on the site, however bloggers are also free to choose an alternate environmental charity to donate to if they wish.





For more Details or to get a banner Click Here.

Gwen Stefani Nude?

Have you heard the big rukus over Gwen Stefani in Kuala Lumpur saying that shes a bad influence for the kids, that her ads and videos are too racy?


The National Association of Islamic Students has started a protest against the
Gwen Stefani Sweet Escape concert thats scheduled for August 21, 2007 on the basis that it is against Malaysian culture and lifestyle.



Malaysian mobile phone firm Maxis Communications, which is promoting the August 21 show as part of Stefani's "Sweet Escape" tour, promised it would feature no revealing costumes, the Star newspaper said.

"She will abide by the Malaysian authorities' guidelines to ensure that her show will not be offensive to local sensibilities," it quoted a Maxis statement as saying.

Malaysia's official guide for performers says women must be covered from the top of the bosom to the knees, the Star said.

Jumping, shouting and the throwing of objects are barred, while performers may not hug, kiss or wear clothes with obscene or drug-related pictures or slogans, it added.

On Tuesday, an official of the 10,000-strong National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students said Stefani's video promotion clips were obscene and the event would clash with local Asian and Islamic values.

"We want the organisers to cancel the concert, failing which we will ask the authorities to intervene," said Mohamad Hilmi Ramli, the group's president.

Ethnic Malays, who are by definition Muslims, make up just over half of Malaysia's 26 million people, while ethnic Chinese and Indians, who are mostly Buddhists, Christians or Hindus, account for most of the rest.



Article found here.

Do you Text & Drive?

If you do, PLEASE don't! In my opinion its worse than talking on the cellphone and driving, and you shouldn't be talking while driving, so you definitely shouldn't be texting!
I read this article in The New York Times that made me think about this and how dangerous it is.
This poor 17 year old girl is now dead because of it. All because she decided to send a text message, not to mention speeding on a winding road, as an inexperienced driver but I'm sure her looking down at her cellphone on a winding road was the main reason. A very sad story.
Here's part of the article.

Text Messages Sent on Phone of Driver Before Wreck


CANANDAIGUA, N.Y., July 13 (AP) — Text messages were sent back and forth on the cell phone of a 17-year-old driver moments before her sport-utility vehicle slammed head-on into a truck, killing her and four other recent high school graduates on June 28, the police said today.

A text message was sent from the phone of the S.U.V. driver, Bailey E. Goodman, at 10:05:02 p.m., according to Sheriff Philip C. Povero of Ontario County, adding that a friend here sent a text message to Ms. Goodman’s phone asking, “What are you doing?”

“The message was received on the cell phone at 10:06:29,” Sheriff Povero said.

A call reporting the accident to the authorities from a passenger in a car the S.U.V. had passed just before the crash was made at 10:07, according to The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

“The records indicate her phone was in use,” he said. “We will never be able to clearly state that she was the one doing the text messaging.”

For the Full Story

World's tallest man gets married

BEIJING - The world's tallest man married a woman who's two-thirds his height and half his age, holding a traditional Mongolian ceremony Thursday with great fanfare at the tomb of Kublai Khan.


Bao Xishun, a 7-foot-9 herdsman from Inner Mongolia, met his bride earlier this year after searching high and low, sending advertisements around the world. It turns out he didn't have to look far — 5-foot-6 saleswoman Xia Shujian hails from his hometown of Chifeng.

Bao wore a specially designed light blue gown topped with a gold vest, and rode to his bride's camp in front of the tomb in a cart pulled by two camels, AP Television News reported. A limo followed the cart.

Read the Full Story

Utah man, 87, says he hitchhiked to Pa.

An 87-year-old Utah man was discovered 2,000 miles away Wednesday in Pennsylvania, less than 48 hours after he was reported missing, police said. How did Andrew Hentz do it?

"He mentioned he had hitchhiked," Clinton police Detective Matt Fawbush said. "I wish I knew how he traveled that far. It's mind-boggling."

Read the Full Story

11 Year Old Girl Arrested Drunk Driving & Speeding over 100MPH!!

I saw this on this mornings news and couldn't believe it!


Eleven Year Old Charged With DUI in Alabama
Drunk Driving Alabama Girl Leads Police on High-Speed Car Chase

Police who chased a car for miles along a highway at speeds up to 100 mph said the driver was drunk, hardly a rarity in this resort town. But there was more: When they looked inside the flipped vehicle with guns drawn, they found an 11-year-old girl at the wheel.

"You go up there thinking it's a felon you're dealing with," assistant police Chief Greg Duck said.
The girl, who was slightly injured in the crash, is now charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, speeding, reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident. Duck said she sideswiped another vehicle during the roughly 8-mile chase.

The chase began around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday when a patrol officer near the Florida line saw the car speeding west along a beach highway, Duck said. When the officer flicked on his lights, the driver sped up. The girl rolled the car just inside the Gulf Shores city limit.

Duck said the girl, whose name was not released because of her age, told police she was on her way to pick up her sister at a concert.

Investigators found no alcohol in the car but believe the girl drank before getting behind the wheel of the car, which belongs to relatives.

Duck declined to release the girl's blood alcohol level but said a blood test at the hospital showed it was higher than .02, the legal limit for minors.

Benoit's Doctor Charged in Federal Drug Probe

Woman Killed by Towtruck Wrecker in Texas

The #1 Reason you Don't Call Strangers to Sell Drugs!!

All I got to say is " What the hell, how dumb can you be!!

Hopefully this taught him a lesson. You don't sell drugs to strangers!! lol And what the hell was this 22 year old thinking!! Maybe it was actually his and he was using the kid to do it because he wasn't an adult which is even worse.

Teen dials wrong number, gets arrested

GULFPORT, Fla. - A 14-year-old boy was arrested after dialing a wrong number and offering to sell drugs to the person on the other end — who happened to be a police detective.

After the call, Gulfport detective Matt Parks arranged to meet the teen in the parking lot of a school to buy an ounce of marijuana and some crack cocaine, a police report said. When the boy showed up Sunday, he was arrested on charges of possession of 18 grams of marijuana with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school.

The 22-year-old driver of the car the boy was riding in was arrested as a principal, as well as for driving with a suspended license.

Parks' phone number is unlisted, and there were no similar phone numbers found in the boy's cell phone, police said. Detectives said the boy, whose name was not released, likely dialed a random number to try to drum up new business.

Parks said Tuesday that the boy has been released from custody.

Strange News and Stranger People!!

I love reading strange news and could easily fill up this whole blog with nothing but strange news stories. Like check out this story I found on Yahoo's Strange News.
Its not the first time I've heard of someone doing this but the funniest part is her nickname.

Butts charged with stealing toilet paper

Police blame a woman named Butts for stealing toilet paper from a central Iowa courthouse, and while they're chuckling, the theft charge could put her in prison.

"She's facing potentially three years of incarceration for three rolls of toilet paper," Chief Lon Walker said, stifling a laugh as he talked to KCCI-TV about Suzanne Marie Butts. "See, I can't say it with a straight face."

Workers had noticed the rolls disappearing from the Marshall County Courthouse much faster than usual, Walker said.

Butts, 38, was caught last week after an employee saw her taking three rolls of two-ply tissue from a storage closet, Walker said.

Butts insisted it was the first time she'd pilfered toilet paper, but she declined to answer further questions on her attorney's advice.

The fifth-degree theft charge, a misdemeanor, normally carries a sentence of less than a year in jail. But Butts could face more time if convicted under the state's habitual offender law because she has prior theft convictions.

Walker did not know why Butts was at the courthouse, but said that she did not work there.

Do you like News?

Well I'm a News Lover! I like reading and listening to just about all news.
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Now for todays news, check out the nude bike riders, then start mashing baby!!

Wisconsin Shooting Leaves Six Dead, One Injured

Paris Goes To Jail

Rosie O'Donnell says "It's been an interesting year"

I used to like Rosie O'Donnell, well I guess I still do a little but not as much I used to. I liked her much better when she was did comedy shows and stand-up.
Now she just gets too carried away with everything and wayyy too loud!! Now her people are trying to say that she planned that whole thing with Elizabeth on The View.
I don't know, I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt but why would she plan that? Just for attention and publicity I suppose? Some say that any kind of publicity is good publicity, well for actors and actresses that is.
What do you think about it all?

Families View Pentagon Memorial