Deadbeat Parents Shown on Pizza Delivery Boxes

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Customers at some suburban Cincinnati pizza parlors are getting something extra with their pepperoni and mushrooms. pizzerias to add wanted posters of parents accused of skipping out on child support on pizza boxes.

The idea came to the agency's director while she was ordering a pizza. She said it suddenly dawned on her that most people running from the law don't eat out, they order pizza. It's just one of the innovative ways agencies are trying to get past-due parents to pay up. In California's Kern County, officials can auction parents' vehicles and give the proceeds to the children. Virginia subpoenas cell-phone records from service providers.

Other Ohio counties include similar fliers in water and sewer bills. An attorney who specializes in fathers' rights has criticized the fliers, saying it could hurt children to see their parent on a "wanted-style" poster.

Cat Serial Killer

from the Columbus Dispatch

Investigators say that a woman who confessed to killing 650 cats and dogs is expected to return to Columbus to face criminal charges. Maureen McLaughlin, 56, apparently had checked herself into a mental-health facility in the Mansfield area by the time authorities went to her apartment. Social workers have diagnosed her with bipolar disorder.

Investigators say that McLaughlin has described drowning hundreds of cats in a large trash can filled with water. She told investigators that she got the cats from neighborhood animal shelters and killed them because she didn't want them to languish in the animal-welfare system.

McLaughlin has been charged so far with one count of animal cruelty.

A Jeopardy First!

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

The answer is: Something that's never happened before on "Jeopardy!" The question is: What is a three-way tie, Alex? The three contestants on the venerable game show all finished with $16,000 each in the episode that aired Friday.

All three correctly responded in the category, "Women of the 1930s." They identified Bonnie Parker of the famed Bonnie and Clyde crime duo as a woman who, as a waitress, once served one of the men who shot her.

Host Alex Trebek remarked that in 23 years, he's "never seen anything like this before."
The three contestants, Jamey Kirby, Anders Martinson and Scott Weiss, were all declared champions and taped a rematch that will air Monday.

Carol Burnett v. Family Guy

from Reuters

Comedian Carol Burnett has filed a copyright infringement suit against the makers of Fox TV's cartoon sitcom "Family Guy" over an episode poking fun at the performer and her variety show from the 1960s and '70s.

The lawsuit claims Family Guy violated Burnett's exclusive rights to her name and likeness by depicting her signature cleaning-woman character in a segment last April without her consent.
The suit seeks $2 million in damages and also says the cartoon episode used a slightly altered version of the copyrighted musical theme to The Carol Burnett Show without permission from the 73-year-old entertainer.

The episode in question refers to Burnett by name as working as a part-time janitor, and depicts her character, complete with trademark blue bonnet and mop bucket, cleaning the floor of a pornography shop.

To see the segment from the episode: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0316072carolburnett1.html

Eiffel Moon

from NASA

Celestial and terrestrial lights are featured in this stunning image that includes the Moon in phases of the total lunar eclipse of March 3rd. In the foreground, the distinctively-shaped Eiffel Tower, nearly 1,000 feet tall, is a well-known tourist destination and one of the most visited buildings in the world. Of course the Moon is even more recognizable, but harder to visit.

Detroit PD Officer Involved in Road Rage, Shooting

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Livonia police said they responded to the scene of a road-rage incident involving a Detroit police officer on Wednesday. When police arrived at the scene on WB I-96 near Stark Road, they found a black SUV with its windows shot out, and a silver Dodge Magnum nearby. The incident started in the area of Fenkell Street and West Outer Drive in Detroit, but ended in Livonia.

The driver of the Magnum was hit by the SUV, and the driver of the SUV fled the scene. The driver of the Magnum then followed the SUV onto I-96. At that point shots were fired from the Magnum, but no one was injured.

Livonia police responded to a 911 call regarding the shooting, and officers waited for the vehicles to enter Livonia city limits, where they pulled both vehicles over. The driver of the Magnum, was an off-duty Detroit police officer. He was immediatley taken into custody. The officer also had open intoxicants inside his vehicle.

The officer probably shot off about four or five rounds and he told Livonia police he was fired at first, and was only shooting back. The officer will not be released until an investigation by police and prosecutors is complete. He is facing charges of assault with intent to murder, and driving under the influence. Livonia police said the Wayne County Prosecutors office has requested several items regarding the investigation.

Probe Spots Seas on Saturn's Moon

from CNN

Scientists have discovered what appear to be sea-size bodies of liquid, probably methane or ethane, on the surface of Saturn's largest moon. The discovery by the international Cassini spacecraft was welcomed by researchers, who have long theorized that Titan possessed hydrocarbon seas because of methane and other organic compounds in its thick, largely nitrogen atmosphere. Until now, Cassini had spotted only clusters of small lakes on the planet-size moon.

Researchers using visual and radar imaging uncovered evidence of at least two seas on Titan's hazy north pole. Cassini's camera last month spied a large, irregular feature stretching 680 miles long with a surface area similar to Asia's landlocked Caspian Sea. Its radar instrument swept over the feature's northern tip and determined that it likely contains liquid methane or ethane because of its smooth appearance. However, scientists do not know whether the entire area is filled with liquid.

Cats Invade House Injuring 3 People

from Breitbart

Two stray cats got into a North Platte, Nebraska house and attacked three people inside, then were euthanized and checked for rabies. The cats entered Melissa Breva's house through an open front door and attacked two women visitors and a boy.

Animal control officers responded to a 911 call for help finding that one woman was scratched and bitten on her legs; the other woman was bitten on her right calf. After talking to the women, the officer went to his truck for snares, then heard screaming from inside the house. He ran back inside and saw a young boy with blood all over his face. He had been bitten on his forehead, nose, left ear and right cheek. All 3 were taken to a local hospital.

The cats were found in a back bedroom, snarling. The officer shot them with a tranquilizer gun and then took them to an animal shelter where they were both euthanized.

'300' Smashes Box Office Record

from CNN

The ancient battle of Thermopylae was the stuff of 2007's first certified blockbuster as the bloody action tale 300 debuted with $70 million over opening weekend.

The number of movie-goers for the Warner Bros. epic 300 outnumbered crowds for the rest of the top-10 movies combined. If the estimate holds when final numbers are released Monday, 300 would break the record for best March debut ever, topping the $68 million haul for Ice Age: The Meltdown last year.

Movie Review: '300' - 3/4

3 scoops (out of 4)
from the Orlando Weekly

300 is a steroid-fueled fantasy of male bloodlust inspired by Frank Miller’s graphic novel about the ancient Battle of Thermopylae between Greek Spartans — a warrior culture unparalleled in human history — and the invading, million-strong army of Persians hell-bent on squashing Greece’s burgeoning democracy. 300 of these Spartans hold off the entire Persian force for three days and, though eventually defeated, their deaths inspire the rest of Greece to unify.

Director Zack Snyder understands the balance between reality and mythology and renders the movie using a technique much like Sin City’s (also based on a Miller graphic novel), except in full color, so that the exaggerated, stylized carnage takes on an almost Homeric beauty while still remaining in the historical ballpark. A lot of this is a credit to Miller, whose comic-book source material is often recreated frame by frame, but just as much is due to the actors, led by Gerard Butler as King Leonidas, who transformed their bodies into muscle-bound machines and slice into their roles so passionately that it’s hard not to leave the theater wanting to become a Spartan and cut off a few Persian heads of your own.

If you see it, make sure your theater is using DLP (Digital Light Projection) technology. DLP™ shows are projected digitally rather than using conventional film. DLP technology is a revolutionary display solution that uses an optical semiconductor to manipulate light digitally. The result is maximum fidelity: a picture with impressive clarity, brilliance and color and a lack of scratches, fading and flutter.

http://300themovie.warnerbros.com/

Teens At Calif School Getting High on Med Marijuana

from WBIR Knoxville TV 10

Officials at the Grossmont Union High School District have sent letters home to parents, notifying them that a number of students have been caught on campus with medical marijuana cards. They are concerned over the growing trend and the apparent ease with which teens are able to obtain the cards.

In the letters, parents, students and faculty are reminded that even if the cards are valid, it is against the law to have marijuana on school property. Recently two East County teenagers were suspended for showing up at school high, with a medical marijuana card as their excuse.

During a series of recent undercover sting operations, investigators identified five local doctors who are issuing cards or prescriptions without proper exams or follow up medical care.

Moose Brings Down Helicopter

from Breitbart

A helicopter is not necessarily a match for an angry Alaskan moose. Instead of lying down after being shot with a tranquilizer dart, a moose charged a hovering helicopter used by a wildlife biologist, damaging the aircraft's tail rotor and forcing it to the ground. Neither the pilot nor the biologist was injured, but the moose was maimed by the spinning rotor and had to be euthanized.

The wildlife biologists shot the animal with a tranquilizer dart and the pilot tried to maneuvered the helicopter to keep the animal from collapsing into nearby water and drowning. The moose then started to move, and then the helicopter began backing off and try to keep the moose out in the open but instead the moose charged the helicopter.

Spring Forward = Mini Y2K

from the Rockford Register Star (Ill)

It’s been compared to a “mini Y2K” — some electronic devices will be confused by the new date for daylight-saving time. Although it’s more of a nuisance than a catastrophe in the making, older computers, PDAs and DVRs may not automatically update their times when daylight-saving comes three weeks early this year — on March 11. The date change was established by the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005, which was passed to get Americans to cut energy consumption. The thinking is that less energy will be used toward the end of the day if the sun’s out later.

Few computer experts think the new date will make a big difference. Consumers can prepare for the change by using a rule of thumb: If a computer or device is a bit older, it may not correct the time automatically. Any Microsoft operating system older than Windows XP may not recognize the new time change come March 11.

Daylight-saving time will end Nov. 4 instead of the usual last Sunday of October.