HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BELIZE

A BREAK FROM THE NORM.

TODAY IS INDEPENDENCE DAY IN BELIZE AND I WANT TO TAKE THIS TIME TO WISH EACH AND EVERY BELIZEAN A HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY.

WHEN I AM NOT AT HOME IN BELIZE, I AM AT HOME IN MEXICO. HOWEVER, I WILL ALWAYS BE BELIZEAN AND I WILL ALWAYS BE MEXICAN, ALSO. MY SENSE OF PRIDE AT BEING ALLOWED TO HAVE DUAL NATIONALITY STEMS HIGH AND STRONG. I HOLD TRUE TO BOTH COUNTRIES AND I WILL ALWAYS SPEAK WELL OF BOTH.

ALTHOUGH I WILL NOT BE IN BELIZE TODAY, I TAKE IN MY HEART THE PRIDE AND JOY OF THE DAY. I MARCH IN THE MIND AND THE HEART. I SING THE PRIDE OF THE COUNTRY I CALL HOME AND I SEND ALL MY LOVE.

GOD BLESS BELIZE AND ALL BELIZEANS.

NO TE METES CON LOS PAJAROS

Couple Attacked by Nesting Sea Birds
KIRKWALL, Scotland (UPI) -- A London couple who got lost on the island of Hoy in the Orkney Islands north of Scotland had to be rescued by the coast guard from angry sea birds.

The couple inadvertently wandered into a nesting colony of great skuas Monday, The Scotsman reports. The coast guard sent a helicopter to get them away from the birds.

Great skuas, known as bonxies in the Orkneys, are large gull-like birds with no fear of humans. They are known for dive-bombing puffins to steal their food and for their aggressive behavior towards intruders in nesting colonies.

Chris Booth, an ornithologist working in the Orkneys, wears a helmet to protect himself.

"They are just defending their nests. If you walk into their territory they will attack you but they don't attack for any other reason," Booth said. "These people were wandering around a bit aimlessly and went into a skua territory and the birds were telling them to get out of the way."

Other experts recommend carrying a stick and lifting it high if birds attack because they go for the highest point.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

VIVEN LA CHUPACABRAS?

Lawmen Say They Saw Mythical Texas Animal
CUERO, Texas (UPI) -- Two deputies in rural south Texas say they may have sighted a chupacabra, a hairless, short-legged creature that has long been a part of regional folklore.

Cpl. Brandon Riedel told KSAT in San Antonio he was in the midst of a training session Friday with a new recruit to the DeWitt County Sheriff's Department when they saw the animal running down a dirt road. He grabbed his video camera.

"You need to record something like this because it's not every day you find something that looks like this running around out in the middle of the county," he said.

Riedel is not completely convinced the animal is a chupacabra. It has a long snout that looks coyote-like.

Last year, a rancher found a carcass he said appeared to be a chupacabra. Some residents say there is no point in being too skeptical.

"It's like every good urban legend," Erik McCowan said. "Maybe it's better to just think it is the chupacabra and just leave it at that."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

JUST LIKE ANY POLITICIAN!!

Politician Accused of Watermelon Theft
EDENTON, N.C. (UPI) -- A man running for the Chowan County Board of Commissioners in North Carolina has been charged with stealing a $3 watermelon from a farmer's field.

Dana Soles is scheduled to appear Sept. 23 in District Court on a felony larceny of ungathered crops charge, which could land him in jail for up to 30 months if he is convicted, the (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported Tuesday.

Soles said he was en route to delivering groceries to the family of a former colleague who had lost his job Aug. 21 when he came across a field of watermelons that he said he heard was due to be tilled. He said he took the watermelon and placed it in his car and admitted to initially denying he had put anything in the vehicle when a deputy stopped to ask if he was having car trouble, Sheriff Dwayne Goodwin said.

Goodwin said Soles eventually admitted to taking the watermelon and was issued a summons Aug. 29.

Soles said the watermelons "were rotting out there" and he "honestly didn't know it was a crime" to remove one of them.

Soles is running on the Republican ticket for District 1, Seat 1 in November's race against Democrat Emmett Winborne.

He said he offered to pay the farmer for the watermelon and he believes his prosecution is politically motivated.

"Had I not been running for office I think things would have been different," he said. "I don't feel I'm the criminal they're making me out to be."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

NILE MONITOR SCARE

Oregon Family Finds Giant Lizard in Backyard
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (UPI) -- Members of an Oregon family say they were shocked to find a 6-foot Nile Monitor lizard in their yard just feet from where their children were playing.

Ryan Nelson of Grants Pass said he was taking his young children inside for their baths when he saw the 60-pound reptile in his peripheral vision, KTVL-TV of Medford reported Tuesday.

"I heard a noise. I thought it was cats at first. And I looked and it's a -- what I thought was -- an alligator at first," Nelson said.

"It freaked me out. I was just boggled about why it was in my yard and how it got here and how long it's been here because the kids are out here playing all the time."

Nelson said his wife phoned MB Reptiles, which sent Dalton Brown to capture the Nile Monitor. Nelson and Brown said it took several minutes to capture the lizard, which had taken refuge under the family's deck.

A neighbor claimed ownership of the lizard. MB Reptiles said he will be able to take the lizard home if he presents proof of ownership and compensates the pet store for the time it has been in its care.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

QUE PIENSAS DEL EMU?

Emu blocks traffic for two hours
NEW STANTON, Pa. (UPI) -- Pennsylvania State Police say they used a stun gun to subdue an emu that blocked traffic for about two hours near the Pennsylvania Turnpike's New Stanton exit.

State troopers said the emu, an Australian cousin to the ostrich, had become trapped Monday between 5-foot-high traffic barriers and resisted all previous attempts to catch it -- including a an attempted cowboy-style lassoing, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported

"It created a backlog of traffic," said state police Sgt. Anthony DeLuca. "Vehicles almost wrecked into each other, into the bird. We tried to chase it down and tried to catch it.

"Once it got in there it got stuck, and it didn't know what to do."

He said troopers eventually used a stun gun on the 4-foot-tall bird and moved it to the side of the roadway but it died shortly after.

"I think what happened is after about two hours of running on the roadway, it probably had a heart attack," he said.

He said authorities are still unsure of the bird's origin.

"It doesn't belong to any local farmers," DeLuca said. "We believe it might just have escaped from a truck that might have been hauling emus."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

IN SEARCH OF A SKATEBOARDER

Police seek 62 mph skateboarder
ULM , Germany (UPI) -- Police in Germany say they are on the lookout for a skateboarder who used a boost from a motorcycle to travel 62 mph down the Ulm-Stuttgart motorway.

Authorities said the skateboarder, whose feat was captured on video and broadcast on German TV, traveled for two miles down the steep stretch of highway at excessive speeds, Sky News reported Wednesday.

The man, who police said they believe to be a professional stuntman, wore a helmet and a red and white protective suit while speeding down the road. Investigators said he held onto the back of a motorcycle for some time to help him pick up speed.




Copyright 2008 by United Press International

VOLANDO CON LOS ELVIS

Flying Elvi are rock and roll aerial stars
SANTA FE, N.M. (UPI) -- The Flying Elvi, it seems, is still getting work following its breakthrough appearance 16 years ago in "Honeymoon in Vegas."

The parachuting group that dresses like rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley, ahs had one booking after another ever since sharing the screen with Nicolas Cage in the 1992 comedy that co-starred Sarah Jessica Parker, Flying Elvi member Rich Brooks told the Albuquerque Journal.

"The movie came out and then people wanted Flying Elvi," Brooks said.

The group's performances now include a sighting above Santa Fe, N.M., where the group jumped from a plane and glided to the ground as part of the Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino's grand opening.

The Journal said Wednesday's event offered a bit of Las Vegas glamour with the jumpsuit-clad Elvi along with more traditional New Mexico fare in the form of pueblo dancers and Beau the white buffalo.




Copyright 2008 by United Press International

HOMBRE A HOMBRE

Police: Man ignited sleeping man's pants
GODFREY, Ill. (UPI) -- A Godfrey, Ill., man has been arrested after he allegedly lit a sleeping man's pants on fire, causing second and third degree burns, authorities said.

Madison County Sheriff's Department Capt. Brad Wells said Joseph Hornsey, 21, was arrested and charged with aggravated battery after he allegedly used a cigarette lighter to ignite frayed strings on the 20-year-old victim's pants, The Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat reported. Wells was being held in lieu of $20,000 bail.

The victim, whose name was not released, had been drinking alcohol and was camping out in Hornsey's backyard at the time of the incident, Wells said.

"The victim was able to put the fire out on his pants and fell back asleep," Wells said.

He said the victim awoke Sunday morning to find he had suffered burns from his blazing trousers and was taken to a St. Louis hospital for treatment.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

CUENTA CELLULAR

Family gets $19,370 cell phone bill
PORTLAND, Ore. (UPI) -- An Oregon family racked up a $19,370 cell phone bill in international charges, they said.

The Terry family's 200-page AT&T cell phone bill mostly lists fees for sending e-mail messages and photos, which are otherwise covered in their unlimited plan, KPTV of Portland, Ore., reported Thursday.

But because a laptop using an AirCard was used in Canada to send e-mails back home, fees began to add up.

AT&T says the AirCard allows users to connect to e-mail, the Internet and business applications while traveling, but international use is not included in the Terry's cell-phone plan.

They said they asked an AT&T employee about the service before their son left the country. They said they were not warned about international fees.

"(We) have a bill that runs normally $250 to $300 for our cell phones," Dave Terry said. "When AT&T saw the numbers getting over $1,000, I would think it's their responsibility to inform us that something was amiss because that card could have been stolen."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

CRY COCKADOO

Pet cockatoo's cries bring police
TRENTON, N.J. (UPI) -- Police in a New Jersey city responding to a call of a woman screaming discovered that the noise was coming from a pet cockatoo.

Passersby thought the sounds coming from a house in Trenton were those of someone screaming in terror and thought that they heard the words "Help me," WCAU-TV in Philadelphia reported.

Police officers had difficulty getting into the house, which was also home to a large German shepherd. Once inside, they found a talking bird named Luna.

Luna's owners face no charges.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

HOME TO STAY

Philly, Baltimore dispute Poe's body
BALTIMORE (UPI) -- Edgar Allan Poe may have wandered in life, but the curator of Baltimore's Poe House says his body will remain where it has been for 160 years -- in Baltimore.

Jeff Jerome is scheduled to travel to Philadelphia in January to debate Poe's proper burial place, The New York Times reports. Freelance writer Edward Pettit says Philadelphia has a superior claim because Poe wrote many of his best-known stories there.

Poe, who was 42 when he died in Baltimore in 1849, was born in Boston and spent much of his childhood in Richmond, Va., with foster parents -- although the family moved to Britain for a few years. As an adult, he served in the Army in South Carolina, published his first book as "A Bostonian," attended West Point in New York, married in Baltimore and lived in New York and Philadelphia.

Last year, Pettit, in an article in a Philadelphia weekly, urged body-snatching. Jerome says he has a cadre of Baltimoreans ready to defend Poe's grave.

"If they want a body they can have John Wilkes Booth," Jerome said, offering the Lincoln assassin, who is also buried in Baltimore.

The Jerome-Pettit debate is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2009, at the Philadelphia Free Library. That's six days before the bicentennial of Poe's birth.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

PORQUE MENTIR

Police: Scam forced marital lie from man
OCALA, Fla. (UPI) -- A 27-year-old man told his wife he had been robbed to avoid revealing he actually had been tricked by a scam artist, police in Florida say.

Marion County sheriff's deputies said Mario Oscar Carlos initially told authorities he and his wife he had been robbed of $8,000 in cash, but the man allegedly later confessed to making the story up to avoid embarrassment, the Ocala (Fla.) Star-Banner reported.

A police report alleged that after officers noticed inconsistencies in his robbery account, Carlos admitted he actually lost the money to a spiritual healer.

Carlos allegedly told police the healer told him to place the cash inside a sock so it could be blessed and then put it in the trunk of his car. He said when he checked on the money Friday, he found the cash-filled sock had been replaced by one filled with only $50, the report alleged.

The Star-Banner said for his marital and legal lie, police charged Carlos with filing a false police report.




Copyright 2008 by United Press International

NAME OF ONE, FACE OF THE OTHER

N.Y. man has McCain's name, Obama's looks
NEW YORK (UPI) -- A New York man says he shares something in common with both major U.S. presidential candidates -- John McCain's name and Barack Obama's looks.

The 40-year-old musician -- whose name just happens to be John McCain, same as the Arizona senator who is the Republican nominee -- said he repeatedly has been told he looks like Obama, the Democratic nominee, the New York Daily News reported.

"I travel to Europe a lot, and a few people have said I look like Obama," the lesser-known McCain said. "When people ask me my name, I always say John McCain, like the senator."

While McCain says he has not used his famous name and face for any sort of advantage, he admits it comes in handy when calling radio talk shows.

"Once I mention that I'm interracial and my name is John McCain, they put me right through," he told the Daily News.




Copyright 2008 by United Press International