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Mayor, 92, wins fifth term

SOUTH COATESVILLE, Pa., Nov. 7 (UPI) --

A 92-year-old mayor just elected to a fifth term is older than the Pennsylvania town he represents.

James C. Kennedy of South Coatesville is not the oldest mayor in the United States, an honor believed to be held by Dorothy Gechen, the 101-year-old mayor of Ocean Breeze, Fla., the Philadelphia Daily News reported Saturday. But he is old enough that he decided to rest instead of attending a victory party Tuesday.

Kennedy, a Democrat, won 85-59. Four years ago, when he sought a fourth term, he was unopposed.

South Coatesville was incorporated in 1921, when Kennedy was 4 years old. The population has risen above 1,000 since the 2000 Census, when it was 997.

Despite its small size, South Coatesville, a suburb of Philadelphia, has its problems. Kennedy said he is on the lookout for grants that will help him avoid raising taxes.

They had a little celebration down in Thorndale, but I didn't go, he said.

Atlanta bus driver suspended for praying

ATLANTA, Nov. 7 (UPI) --

An Atlanta bus driver was suspended for insisting his passengers join him in a prayer, his employer says.

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority spokesman Lyle V. Harris said LeRoy Matthews received a five-day furlough after passengers said he stopped his bus and asked all riders to hold hands and take part in a moment of prayer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Saturday.

An unidentified passenger said he was trying to get off the bus Tuesday, when Matthews made his prayer request.

The impromptu prayer session on the public bus lasted at least 4 minutes and the focus of the prayer remained unclear, Harris said.

The Journal-Constitution said Matthews has been a MARTA employee for six years.

Rare bottle of whiskey stolen

WESTON, Fla., Nov. 7 (UPI) --

A man and woman working in tandem stole a $3,500 commemorative bottle of whiskey from a liquor store in Weston, Fla., police said.

The limited edition Johnnie Walker Blue Label bottle was one of just six bottles distributed in Florida to mark the 200th anniversary of the Scottish whiskey maker, Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion said.

The bottle taken from a display case at Master Wine Liquor had been gone for three days before store employees realized it had been stolen, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Saturday.

Surveillance video from Oct. 30 showed a man putting the rare bottle in his pants and replacing it with a different bottle while a woman distracted store employees, police said.

Accused bigamist says he didn't say 'I do'

DETROIT, Nov. 7 (UPI) --

A married Detroit man says he can't be accused of bigamy because he didn't say I do in a marriage ceremony to a second woman.

Eugene Pallisco, 44, testified Friday in Oakland County Circuit Court that his marriage to Lesley Keith, 38, was a sham and Keith knew it.

Keith, who now lives in Las Vegas, is suing Pallisco for damages in excess of $25,000 for emotional distress, the Detroit Free Press reported Saturday.

Keith told Judge Cheryl Matthews he stood mute during the 2002 marriage ceremony and never uttered the words of consent I do. Several witnesses, however, testified they heard Pallisco say I do and believed the marriage to be legitimate.

In addition, Pallisco and Keith's marriage license was never filed with the county. Robert Zaloga, the minister who married the couple, testified he

didn't recall mailing copies of the marriage license to the county clerk's office, but that it was his normal practice to do so.

Pallisco said his wife, who married him about 15 years ago, was not aware of his alleged sham wedding to Keith.

Python hoaxer faces charges

BRADENTON, Fla., Nov. 7 (UPI) --

A Florida man has been charged with faking the trapping of a 14-foot Burmese python he had actually purchased from a dealer.

Justin Matthews, 47, of Bradenton was arrested this week by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the St. Petersburg Times reported. The charges include keeping a dangerous animal in an unsafe manner and misusing the 911 emergency system.

Matthews, a nuisance animal trapper, told news media in the St. Petersburg-Tampa area in July that a python was on the loose in a Bradenton neighborhood and he would be catching it. The 14-foot python was in a drain pipe.

Investigators said he had bought the python and put it in the pipe himself. Matthews quickly admitted staging the event, saying he had done so because he wanted to dramatize the problem of irresponsible owners of large snakes. He noted a python had killed an infant in Sumter County on July 1.

In August, Matthews apologized publicly, saying he had made a mistake but had not put anyone at risk.

About 100,000 Burmese pythons are believed to be living in the Florida Everglades but have not ventured as far north as Tampa Bay. Occasionally, a released or escaped pet turns up.

Burglar sends paper homemade 'mug shot'

SWANSEA, Wales, Nov. 6 (UPI) --

An alleged burglar wanted by Welsh authorities sent a newspaper a picture of himself because he didn't like the mug shot it published.

A spokesman for the South Wales Evening Post said Matthew Maynard, 23, whose mug shot appeared in the paper during the weekend as part of a police effort to track down wanted suspects, called the newspaper Monday, the Daily Mail reported Friday.

He telephoned on Monday saying he was not happy with the picture and that he would send in another, the spokesman said. We just didn't believe that he would do it.

However, staff received a photo of Maynard posing next to a police van.

Police said Maynard's stunt is likely to backfire as the newspaper printed the photo on its front page.

He is a berk. He thinks he is being clever by showing off like this, but we'll have him in soon now, one officer said.

Officials spied on family over school

POOLE, England, Nov. 6 (UPI) --

A British woman whose family was spied on by a local council using defense laws is taking officials to court.

Jenny Paton, 40, said Poole Borough Council spied on her family 21 times in three weeks after she applied to have her children sent to a highly rated school in Poole, the Daily Mail reported Friday.

Ben Hooper, counsel for the district's borough council, told the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in central London that the council used the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act to spy on the family to ensure they were telling the truth about living in the correct school catchment.

It was minimally invasive of privacy, Hooper said.This is educational gold dust. I say that it was a very successful state school where in June of this year it reported as being outstanding in every one of the areas it had been examined.

Authorities said the surveillance involved the logging of where cars had been parked and occasional following of vehicles.

Brit teen vandals fess up to mess

NORTH TAWTON, England, Nov. 6 (UPI) --

The facade of a British church featured in a popular TV series and many of the churchyard's gravestones were vandalized by a trio of teenagers, police say.

The 750-year-old St. Peter's church in Devon, seen every week in the show Jam and Jerusalem, was desecrated by two girls and a boy who spray-painted dozens of smiley faces and lewd comments on walls, memorials and gravestones, officials told the Daily Mail.

The vandals were to appear in court Wednesday to face charges of criminal damage, but the charges were withdrawn after the teenagers agreed to apologize to the vicar of church and the congregation, and clean up the damage, the British newspaper reported Friday.

The Rev. Brian Ardill, rector of St. Peter's church, said the teenagers were very sorry for what they did. I had some very nice letters, which were very contrite and apologetic, he said.

Ardill said it took the vandals about six hours to scrub the granite clean. Hot water and a wire brush has worked really well and the walls have come up beautifully, he added.

Police: 911 call about marriage lie

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 6 (UPI) --

Police in Tennessee said a woman arrested and charged for a second time with abusing the 911 system was calling because a man refused to marry her.

Clarksville Police said Hee Orama, 34, called 911 and the police non-emergency number more than 10 times Monday and Tuesday for personal issues involving a man lying about his intention to marry her, The Clarksville (Tenn.) Leaf Chronicle reported Friday.

Orama was repeatedly warned and issued a citation before her arrest, police said. She was charged with one count of abuse of the 911 system.

Police said Orama was also arrested last week for repeatedly calling 911 because she couldn't find her car, WSMV-TV, Nashville, reported Friday.

Black students told to act like slaves

WAXHAW, N.C., Nov. 6 (UPI) --

Parents and teachers at a North Carolina school are protesting a history lesson that involved African-American students pretending to be slaves.

Teachers at Rea View Elementary in Waxhaw said they are planning to write leaders at the Latta Plantation about a lesson during a Wednesday field trip that involved an African-American tour guide instructing black students to pretend to be slaves while their white classmates looked on, WSOC-TV, Charlotte, reported Friday.

Parents said the three students chosen by tour guide Ian Campbell wore bags used to gather cotton while mimicking cotton picking.

I am very enthusiastic about getting kids to think about how people did things in 1860, 1861 -- even before that period, said Campbell, who added he has been a historian for 15 years.

I was trying to be historically correct not politically correct, he said.

Kojo Nantambu, president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg National Asssociation for the Advancement of Colored People, criticized the lesson.

There is a lingering pain, a lingering bitterness, a lingering insecurity and a lingering sense of inhumanity since slavery. Because that's still there, you want to be more sensitive than politically correct or historically correct, he said.

Sex toy study draws criticism

DURHAM, N.C., Nov. 6 (UPI) --

A sex toy study being conducted by Duke University in North Carolina is being criticized by a religious leader.

The Rev. Joe Vetter, director of the Duke Catholic Center, said he was concerned about ads seeking female students at the school to take part in a sexually explicit study on Tupperware party-style gatherings that feature the discussion and sale of sex toys, The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer reported Friday.

The Catholic center is one of more than 25 religious life groups representing a variety of faiths at the private university.

Vetter said he found the study was designed by healthcare workers to examine whether sex toy use reduces sexual promiscuity, an approach that has been promoted on campus by student health groups.

I'm concerned about promiscuity also, Vetter said. And to be honest, I don't have the solution ... . My concern is these students are in this developmental phase, and I don't think it's a good developmental practice to just tell somebody to just sit around and masturbate. I don't think that promotes relationships.

Michael Schoenfeld, Duke's vice president for public affairs, said the project went through a peer-review process before being approved.

Not all research will make people comfortable, Schoenfeld said.

Man injured by falling pumpkin

YPSILANTI, Mich., Nov. 6 (UPI) --

Police in Michigan said a pumpkin thrown from an overpass broke through a man's windshield and struck him on the head.

The South Post of the Michigan State Police said the 50-year-old Pinckney man and his 2007 Ford Ranger were struck by the pumpkin at about 3:35 a.m. Friday on M-14 in Plymouth Township, the Detroit Free Press reported Friday.

The man was in stable condition Friday at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti, Mich.

Police said items thrown from overpasses are a growing problem in the Detroit area.

Tires, cement, now pumpkins, Sgt. Michael Shaw said. It's been a concern for us, but this is the first time an item large enough actually went through a windshield.

Shaw said drivers reported more pumpkins falling from the overpass about 10 minutes after police left the scene.

Authorities find van stolen in 1974

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6 (UPI) --

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents said a search of a shipping container bound for the Netherlands revealed a vehicle reported stolen in 1974.

Customs agents in Los Angeles said they opened the shipping container in October and discovered a restored 1965 Volkswagen that was reported stolen from an auto upholstery shop in Spokane, Wash., in 1974, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review reported Friday.

Michael Maleta, an auto theft investigator with the California Highway Patrol, said the van was being shipped with three restored VW Beetles by a custom restoration business in Arizona. Maleta said the shop, which was not named, is also considered a victim in the case.

Investigators said they have been unable to locate the van's original owners, but it was turned over to Allstate Insurance Co., which paid off the owner in 1974. They said the van is believed to have changed hands several times between its theft and discovery.

Web site: Top five sights for Poe fans

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif., Nov. 6 (UPI) --

A tourism Web site has issued its Five Must-See Sights for Edgar Allan Poe Fans in the United States.

VirtualTourist.com said the Poe Museum in Richmond, Va., is a can't-miss attraction for fans of the 19th century writer as it houses his walking stick, a lock of his hair, his boyhood bed and other memorabilia. The museum also offers its garden for weddings.

Mentioned second on the California tourism Web site's list is the Baltimore Poe House and Museum in Maryland, a two-story residence where Poe is believed to have completed at least nine stories and eight poems.

Third on the list is Poe's House in New York's Bronx borough, where the writer moved with his wife while she was suffering from tuberculosis. The Web site said the home was moved to its current position in a park during the 20th century when it was threatened with demolition.

The Edgar Allan Poe National Historical Site in Philadelphia, where Poe lived with his family and is said to have written his short story The Black Cat, is No. 4 on the list. The location is a favorite meeting and event location for Philadelphia's Friends of Poe.

Completing the list is Edgar Allan Poe Square in Boston, the city of Poe's birth. The square was dedicated to Poe in April.

U.N. leader gives up office for renovation

NEW YORK, Nov. 6 (UPI) --

The United Nations secretary general's staff says he doesn't mind moving his New York office into a warehouse in the name of energy-efficient renovations.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's staff said Ban will be moving his office before the end of the month from the 37th floor of the U.N. headquarters on New York;'s east side to vacate the building for $2 billion in renovations scheduled to end in 2014, the Christian Science Monitor reported Friday.

The renovations are aimed at cutting the complex's energy consumption by nearly half. The temporary office will be housed in a windowless warehouse erected on the U.N. headquarters campus.

I don't think he minds taking a temporary office, a member of Ban's staff said, especially when the whole purpose is to give the U.N. a more efficient building.

Canada apologizes for declaring woman dead

KAMLOOPS, British Columbia, Nov. 6 (UPI) --

A Canadian federal department has apologized to a British Columbia woman who was mistakenly flagged as dead in government records.

Nancy Towle's problems began when her Canada Pension Plan widow's benefit check didn't arrive in September, The (Kamloops) Daily News reported.

She told the newspaper she spent two days making phone calls to various federal departments and learned she had been declared dead.

Towles told the Daily News she received a registered letter Thursday with an apology from the executive director of the Human Resources and Skills Development department, where the error originated.

Department spokeswoman Melissa Hart told the newspaper in an e-mail a human error was made on a client's file.

Meanwhile, Towles said she's wary and double-checking all of her dealings with government agencies.

Officials: Nolan brother planned jailbreak

CHICAGO, Nov. 6 (UPI) --

Authorities in Chicago said the brother of The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan was allegedly planning a jail escape worthy of Batman.

Officials at the high-rise Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago said they discovered 31 feet of rope made from bedsheets, a harness, a razor and a metal clip that could unlock handcuffs in the cell of Matthew Nolan, 41, who was arrested in February on Costa Rican murder charges, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

Nolan was charged with creating items designed and intended to be used to facilitate an escape.

It is clear from the items seized ... that Nolan had devoted a significant amount of time during his first two weeks at the MCC preparing for an escape, prosecutors said in a court filing.

A source at the prison said it was unlikely that Nolan's plan would have worked even if his tools hadn't been discovered. A search of the facility's records indicates no one has ever escaped from the jail.

Costa Rican authorities charged Nolan with murder and kidnapping in the death of Florida accountant Robert Cohen. He was arrested by the FBI in February while leaving bankruptcy court in Chicago.

Dad angry about retouched photo of girl, 3

LULEA, Sweden, Nov. 6 (UPI) --

A Swedish father said the photographer hired to take pictures for his 3-year-old daughter's preschool digitally removed her scar without permission.

Per Engman of Lulea said Thords foto altered the preschool class photo to remove a scar from the nose of his daughter, Meja Flymalm, The Local reported Friday.

It's just not right, it's a sign that people refuse to accept the world as it is and all these problems associated with idealized beauty just seem wrong, Engman said. They assume that parents don't want scars, but I do. The scar is a part of who she is.

Engman said the photographers hired by the school also altered his daughter's picture without permission last year to remove a red spot from her cheek that she incurred from a fall the previous evening.

Thord Larsson of Thords foto apologized for the incident, saying pictures are usually only altered with the permission of parents.

There are a lot of parents who are happy when marks which may have shown up from a scratch that morning are made to disappear, and the same goes for runny noses, he said. We just want things to be nice and cute.

Errant baguette chunk shuts down collider

GENEVA, Switzerland, Nov. 5 (UPI) --

Experts were trying to determine Thursday how a piece of bread made its way into the Hadron collider in Switzerland, shutting it down for a couple of days.

The collider, a circular installation with a circumference of 17 miles, had already been delayed by a helium leak and is gradually being restarted. Scientists shut the collider down after noticing temperatures were rising Tuesday, The Times of London reported.

An inspection revealed a piece of baguette, the classic crusty long French loaf, had made its way into an electrical unit that should have been powering the cryogenic cooling unit.

A spokeswoman for the European Organization for Nuclear Research said the errant baguette would have had trouble getting over the security fences.

Nobody knows how it got there. The best guess is that it was dropped by a bird, either that or it was thrown out of a passing airplane, she told the Times. Obviously this was slightly surprising. Within the team there was some amusement once they had relaxed after initial concerns.

FAA probes ice chunk from the sky

CHICAGO, Nov. 5 (UPI) --

The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating the origin of a falling ice chunk that damaged the roof and gutters of a Chicago home.

The FAA said it is looking into whether any of the planes approaching O'Hare International Airport, which is located about 10 miles from the home, Wednesday night had water leakage problems, the Chicago Tribune reported Thursday.

Homeowner Paul Dowd said the large ice chunk hit the roof of the house at about 7:52 p.m. He said a police report was filed and he contacted his insurance company. The home is under a flight path used by planes at the airport.