School doors glued shut

DELTONA, Fla. (UPI) -- A Florida school began classes 90 minutes late one Tuesday because officials were struggling to open doors that had been glued shut by teenagers.

Nancy Wait of Volusia County Public Schools said a surveillance video recorded three teenagers gluing the doors of Pine Ridge High School in Deltona shut overnight and officials are working to identify the culprits, WKMG-TV, Orlando, Fla., reported Tuesday.

Wait said the incident is not believed to have been a senior prank.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Stolen cop car found in parking garage

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (UPI) -- Police in Mountain View, Calif., said a police cruiser that went missing from a concert turned up two days later in an apartment complex parking lot.

Investigators said someone stole Car 3006 from a concert Friday featuring rock groups Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction and apparently took the vehicle for a joyride before leaving it in the garage, the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News reported Monday.

Officers searched the streets of the city for the black and white Ford Crown Victoria after it went missing Friday and a police helicopter from the San Jose police department joined the search Friday night and Saturday.

A Mountain View resident called police at about 1:35 p.m. Sunday and said she spotted the missing police car in her apartment complex's parking garage. Police said the car was undamaged and a shotgun that was locked in the back of the car remained unmolested. However, officers said the keys were not with the car.

Police said they are hoping evidence gathered from the car will point them toward a suspect.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Man got 1,197 piercings in one day

ARLINGTON, Texas (UPI) -- A Texas body modification enthusiast said he broke a Guinness World Record by receiving 1,197 piercings in a single day.

Jeremy Stroud said Arlington body modification artist Tyson Turk spent about five hours May 2 inserting 800 needles into his back, 300 in his right arm, 50 in his leg and about 20 in his left arm, the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram reported Monday.

He said the needles were removed at the end of the day but they left scars all over his body.

"They're so close together that they leave a line. It kind of looks like I had stitches from my wrist all the way up to my shoulder," he said.

Stroud said two emergency medical technicians were on hand during the record attempt as well as a witness and a photographer to support his bid to make it into the record book. He said the original plan was 2,000 piercings, but the pain from the needles eventually started to catch up to him.

"I made it to 1,200 and my body was getting ready to shut down," he said. "I had no idea what I was getting into."

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Brits turn to wallabies for lawn control

BUNGAY, England (UPI) -- Wallaby breeders in Britain say demand is soaring as private land owners turn to the marsupials to keep their grass short.

Trevor Lay, owner of Waveney Wildlife in Bungay, England, said he used to breed only 15 animals a year for zoos and animal parks but since private land owners began buying the animals about five years ago he has been breeding 35 each year, The Times of London reported Monday.

"It's crazy. To be honest, if I had 100 I could easily get rid of them," said Lay, who has been breeding wallabies for 25 years and is the largest private supplier in Britain.

Fellow breeder Quintin Spratt of Tacolneston, England, said his business has also been booming as a result of people using them to control large lawns.

The breeders said prospective wallaby owners need at least half an acre of land with a lot of grass and a fence at least 5 feet high around the property.

"Anyone who can keep a rabbit can keep a wallaby. They are lovely, gregarious animals," Lay said.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Overdue book back after 31 years

ARLINGTON, Va. (UPI) -- A Virginia library said a woman has returned a book she checked out more than 30 years ago.

Peter Golkin, a spokesman for the Arlington Central Library, said "The Patriot Chiefs" by Alvin Josephy was checked out March 16, 1978, and returned last Tuesday with a $25 check and a letter of apology, The Washington Post reported Monday.

"It's always great to get the books back, as opposed to any kind of income from fines or replacement fees," Golkin said.

Sarah McKee, 70, said she borrowed the book from the library so long ago that she had forgotten the book was not hers.

"To my great embarrassment," her note read, "I recently opened this book and discovered it is yours -- not mine. My apologies for my tardiness."

McKee, who now lives in Amherst, Mass., blamed the mistake on her poor memory.

"I never would have schlepped it around all these years had I not thought it was mine," she said.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

LONGEST NAME IN MEXICO

Happy Family of Brhadaranyakopanishadvivekachudamani Erreh Muñoz


THE OFFSPRING WITH THE LONGEST NAME TO FOLLOW THE TRADITION OF FATHER´S NAME GIVEN TO SON


Parece mentira, pero es real. Un mexicano de Coahuila tiene el nombre "más largo" del país y uno de los más exóticos del mundo: Brhadaranyakopanishadvivekachudamani Erreh Muñoz.



"Brhada", como le dicen sus amigos, es un médico veterinario que lleva su nombre de 36 letras con mucho orgullo. Tanto es así, que ha llamado a su hijo de la misma manera, aunque con una pequeña variación.
El cambio consiste en que los apellidos Erreh Muñoz fueron fusionados en una sola palabra, razón por la cual los tres hijos del veterinario llevan el apellido Errehmuñoz.
Lo interesante de la historia es que el apellido Erreh fue un invento del padre de Brhadaranyakopanishadvivekachudamani.
El padre de Brhada se llama José Refugio. A este hombre originario de Jalisco le pusieron Refugio como una ofrenda a la Vírgen del Refugio, porque fue el único bebé que logró sobrevivir tras la muerte de sus cuatro hermanos.
clic Participe: En busca de nombres curiosos
La "R" de Refugio
El problema es que a José no le gustaba llamarse Refugio y decidió presentarse en la vida como José R, nada más. Así surgió el apellido R, que terminó siendo Erreh, y que ahora significa "esposo, refugio, rosario, esposa, hijo".
No contento con inventar un nuevo apellido, don José decidió ponerle a su hijo Brhadaranyakopanishadvivekachudamani que es, nada más ni nada menos, que la mezcla de los nombres de dos filósofos hindúes.
Al principio, don José no sabía cuál de los dos filósofos elegir y al final, tras muchas horas de divagaciones, decidió ponerle los dos nombres en una sola palabra.
Brhada le dijo a BBC Mundo que el nombre del primer filósofo significa "el hombre se convierte en lo que hace", mientras que el segundo, al parecer, no tiene un significado muy preciso.

¿Pero por qué su padre quería el nombre de dos filósofos?
Es que mi padre es muy afecto a la literatura hindú y quería comenzar una tradición que se perpetuara a través de los años. Por eso yo también le puse a mi hijo ese nombre.
¿Y profesa la religión hindú o su familia tiene algún vínculo con India?
¡No! (ríe) No tenemos ningún vínculo y yo no soy hindú.
¿Y entonces por qué le puso el mismo nombre a su hijo?
Para seguir la tradición de mi padre, nada más.
¿Y por qué transformó el apellido Erreh en Errehmuñoz?
Un deseo de mi padre.
¿Nunca pensó en cambiarse el nombre?
No, nunca.
¿Y no ha tenido problemas con ese nombre tan largo?
Solamente con la documentación oficial. Por ejemplo. en mi credencial de elector o en la licencia de conducir no hay espacio suficiente, entonces han tenido que hacer un "oficio", un documento anexo para escribir mi nombre completo
¿Y en la escuela no le hacían bromas?
No, uno se acostumbra a que la gente pregunte siempre las mismas cosas... que por qué tan largo, que qué significa y así, pero el nombre no me ha dado problemas.
Nombres exóticos
En México son muy creativos para los nombres. De hecho, nadie sabe qué estaban pensando los padres de algunas personas cuando les pusieron nombres como Zoila Vaca del Campo, Hitler o Michael Jordan.



Entre las rarezas, está el caso de una mujer que fue inscrita el 22 de abril de 1914 en el Registro Civil del Distrito Federal con más de 30 nombres.
Los que la conocieron probablemente la llamaban María Saldivar, pero su verdadero nombre era así:
María de la Asunción Luisa Conzaga Guadalupe Refugio Luz Loreto Salud Altagracia Carmen Matilde Josefa Ignacia Francisca Solano Vicenta Ferrer Antonia Ramona Agustina Carlota Inocencia Federica Gabriela de Dolores de los Sagrados Corazones de Jesús y de María Saldivar y Saldivar.
"Mi nombre es para siempre"
El Registro Civil de Coahuila está impulsando una campaña que se llama "Mi nombre es para siempre", con el objetivo de que las personas le pongan nombres a sus hijos que sean fáciles de escribir, pronunciar y recordar.
En el caso del Distrito Federal, el Registro Civil no ha inscrito nombres largos o particularmente raros en los últimos años y está más bien preocupado por agilizar los trámites.
Su más reciente campaña está centrada en la digitalización de 27 millones de actas de nacimiento, matrimonio y defunción.
Sin embargo, las autoridades han visto casos en que la gente no está feliz con su nombre y trata de cambiárselo.
Hegel Cortés, director de la institución, le dijo a BBC Mundo que las leyes permiten el cambio de nombre ante el Tribunal Superior de Justicia sólo cuando existen razones de peso.
"Una persona no puede cambiarse el nombre sólo porque no le gusta, tiene que demostrar ante un juez que le causa menoscabo o discriminación".
En el terreno de los "nombres normales" que no causan mayores inconvenientes, los más comunes entre los recién nacidos en la capital mexicana son Fernanda y Valeria, mientras que en el caso de los hombres llevan la delantera Diego y Santiago.


Es que mi padre es muy afecto a la literatura hindú y quería comenzar una tradición que se perpetuara a través de los años. Por eso yo también le puse a mi hijo ese nombre: Brhadaranyakopanishadvivekachudamani Erreh Muñoz

EL SUCESOR
El hijo del hombre con el nombre más largo sigue la tradición: lleva el mismo nombre que su padre!!

LANE CHANGING COMING TO SAMOA

APIA, Samoa -- Sometime in the early morning hours of Sept. 7, residents of this small Pacific island nation will stop their cars, take a deep breath, and do something most people would think is suicidal: Start driving on the other side of the road.

Samoa is about to become what's believed to be the first nation since the 1970s to order its drivers to switch from one side of the road to the other. That's spawned an islandwide case of road rage. Opponents have organized two of the biggest protests in Samoan history, and a new activist group -- People Against Switching Sides, or PASS -- has geared up to fight the plan.

The prime minister who hatched Samoa's scheme, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, refuses to do a U-turn. Road-switch opponents are just trying to rattle the government, he says. He has compared a prominent opponent of the switch to a local "avaava" fish -- a sea creature that swims in shallow waters and eats garbage, an insult in Samoan culture.

The main reason for Samoa's switch is that two of its biggest neighbors, Australia and New Zealand, drive on the left-hand side, whereas Samoa currently drives on the right, as in the U.S. By aligning with Australia and New Zealand, the prime minister says, it will be easier for poor Samoans to get cheap hand-me-down cars from the 170,000 or so Samoans who live in those two countries. It could also help more people escape tsunamis, says Mr. Tuilaepa.

It all "makes common sense," says Mr. Tuilaepa in an interview in his office overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the capital city of Apia. Mr. Tuilaepa, who sports a wave of fluffy whitening hair and wears flip-flops, has run the country for more than a decade.

Opponents and some outside experts fear the switch will turn many of Samoa's already-dangerous roads into disaster zones. Roads wind through mountainous jungle terrain with sharp turns, few traffic lights and pedestrians and dogs sharing the lanes. Critics say the switch will add further confusion with drivers likely to forget which side they're supposed to be on.

The move will also add costs -- like carving new doors into buses so passengers can get off on the opposite side of the road -- that critics say are unnecessary in a country heavily reliant on foreign aid.

For car owners, the switch is also expected to drive the value of their vehicles off a cliff, since about 14,000 of the country's 18,000 vehicles are designed to drive on the right. Although such cars will be allowed after the changeover, they are likely to become less desirable.

"To be really quite frank, we find [the change] ridiculous," says Sina Retzlaff-Lima, whose Apia Rentals rental-car company has 40 cars made for driving on the right side of the road.

Globally, about 70% of the world's population drives on the right-hand side of the road. But other parts of the world -- including many countries that were once British colonies -- remain committed to the left.

The root causes of the gap stem from preferences when countries developed their first road rules, says Peter Kincaid, an Australia-based author of "The Rule of the Road," which analyzes world traffic patterns.

Mr. Kincaid says American drivers of horse-drawn carriages tended to ride their horses, or walk alongside them, on the left-hand side of their vehicles so they could wield whips with their right hands. That made it necessary to lead carriages down the right side of the road so drivers could be nearer the center of the street.

A handful of countries have switched over the years, mainly to match up with neighbors that had different standards. Several former British colonies in Africa, including Nigeria, went from left to right in the decades after World War II. Sweden switched sides, from left to right, in 1967, while Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, did the same in 1970 for reasons that even today remain unclear.

Since the 1970s, says Mr. Kincaid, international road rules have remained largely the same -- until Samoa.

With only about 200,000 people and a handful of traffic lights in downtown Apia, Samoa is the western neighbor of American Samoa, an American territory. It is known for its close proximity to the international date line, which makes it possible for some visitors to arrive in Samoa the day before they left.

Samoa settled on right-hand traffic in the early 1900s, when it was under German control. But doubters long thought it made more sense to line up with Australia and New Zealand, and the prime minister agreed, unveiling his plan in 2007.

The idea caught on in some villages, where residents figured it would become easier to get old cars from relatives.

"In the beginning it will be hard, but we'll learn -- we're not stupid," says Leau Apisaloma, a 54-year-old village chief who collects entrance fees from visitors at a beach an hour from Apia.

In Apia, though, opponents are determined to fight the change. Having just taken delivery of an expensive Toyota Tundra from America in late 2006, local lawyer Toleafoa Solomona Toailoa shifted the resistance into high gear. With allies, he formed PASS and helped lead two protest marches, including one featuring a petition with more than 30,000 signatures.

The government refused to budge. Mr. Toleafoa launched his own political party, with plans to contest the next election in 2011. Supporters also took the plan to court, on the grounds that it breaches citizens' right to life by making Samoan roads too dangerous. The case is pending.

With the deadline approaching, the government is speeding ahead. It has added road humps to slow traffic and erected signs that, when unveiled Sept. 7, will remind drivers to stay left. In a TV address about the road change last week, the prime minister warned that "the only thing to fear is fear itself." He listed a series of other steps, including declaring Sept. 7 and 8 national holidays. The government has also set up a "training area" near a sports stadium where drivers can practice the fine art of driving on the left side of the road.

One recent Sunday morning, a bus was seen barreling down the right side of the road in the training area, the driver apparently oblivious to the fact that it was the wrong side. After nearly running head-on into a sport-utility vehicle, the bus driver swerved then returned to the wrong side of the road and chugged on.

COUNTRIES WHO HAVE OR HAVE NOT CHANGED DRIVING LANES

On Sept 7th Samoa will be changing their driving lane from right to left. It is causing an uproar on th island but the president of that small nation is unmoved in his decision. Here are some statistics on who drives where!!!




COUNTRIES THAT HAVE KEPT TO THE LEFT
Countries that use left-hand traffic account for about 30% of the world's population, a sixth of its area and a quarter of its roads. Below, the list.

Anguilla
Antigua
Australia
The Bahamas
Bangladesh
Barbados
Bermuda
Bhutan
Botswana
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Cayman Islands
Channel Islands
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Cook Islands
Cyprus
Dominica
Falkland Islands
Fiji
Grenada
Guyana
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Isle of Man
Jamaica
Japan
Kenya
Kiribati (Gilbert Islands)
Lesotho
Macao
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Malta
Mauritius
Montserrat
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
New Zealand
Nieu Island
Norfolk Island
Pakistan
Papua New Guinea
Pitcairn Island
St Helena
St Kitts-Nevits (-Anguilla)
St Lucia
St Vincent
Seychelles
Singapore
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Surinam
Swaziland
Tanzania
Thailand
Tokelau Islands
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
United Kingdom
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Source: The Rule of the Road

The Great Pumpkin is from Kentucky

INDIANAPOLIS (UPI) -- A 1,145-pound pumpkin from the "Kentucky Pumpkin Mafia" came in first place at the Giant Pumpkin Contest at the Indiana State Fair Sunday, officials said.

The Indianapolis Star reported John Van Hook, 42, of Somerset Kentucky, grew the winning pumpkin. Van Hook's brother, a fellow pumpkin grower, also attended the Indianapolis fair sporting a hat emblazoned with "Kentucky Pumpkin Mafia."

It was the second year in a row Kentuckians won top awards at the Indiana fair.

Kentuckians have some advantage over the Indiana growers because their warm season starts earlier, admitted Dwight Slone of Prestonsburg, Ky. Slone and his wife, Karen, entered a pumpkin weighing 1,126 pounds that took second place.

Roger Howard, 61, a pumpkin grower in Grovertown, Ind., agreed.

"They start their growing the first of April because they can, because it's warm down there, whereas up north I can't start mine until the end of April," Howard said.

Most other "weigh-offs" are held in October so everyone is playing on even ground and can catch up, he said.



Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Man falls 30 feet; injuries slight

NEW YORK (UPI) -- A New York businessman stepped outside an off-track betting facility, lit a cigar, and fell through a rusted-out metal sidewalk plate, officials said.

Vincent Riggio, 59, fell 30 feet into the basement of a clothing store in the TriBeCa area when the corroded metal plate holding the basement's doors in place gave way, the New York Post reported Sunday.

"He came out, he had a cigar, he stepped on the platform and he fell," said Freddy Chew, a deliveryman. "I looked down the hole. He was down there, squatting down. There was a lot of dust."

Chew called 911 and Riggio calmly telephoned his wife to tell her what had happened.

When authorities arrived, one firefighter was lowered by rope into the basemen, put a harness around Riggio, and hoisted him up.

"He was banged up a little bit, but he had no life-threatening injuries," said Battalion Chief James Sheridan.



Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Dog wants to help with mowing lawn

CINCINNATI (UPI) -- A retired Cincinnati firefighter says his pet Shih Tzu loves to sit on his riding lawnmower with him when he cuts his grass.

Former firefighter and paramedic Bill Rinear said he bolted a wicker container to the top of his lawnmower so Minnie the Shih Tzu can enjoy taking part in the outdoors chore, The Cincinnati Enquirer said.

The sight of a dog sitting atop a moving lawnmower apparently draws it fair share of attention.

"People get out of their cars and just stare at us," Rinear said. "They wonder: 'What kind of an idiot has a dog riding in a basket on top of his lawn mower?'"

Rinear says he just like to spend time with his small 6-year-old dog.

"I'm the kind of idiot who used to unzip his sweatshirt and tuck her inside," he told the Enquirer. "When I would cut grass, she would stick her head out of the opening."



Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Man won't give up his short shorts

KAMLOOPS, British Columbia (UPI) -- A Canadian yoga instructor says he will give up working out at a gym in Kamloops, British Columbia, sooner than give up his short shorts.

Mohd Abdullah, 48, told The Province he has received two warnings about his shorts since he joined the Tournament Capital Center a year ago. Officials at the gym said other patrons have complained Abdullah's attire is too short, too loose and shows a bit too much.

"I think it is discriminating and at the same time, I think it is a double standard," he said. "Here you have women that are wearing shorts that are half my size and with, excuse my lingo, the boobs half falling out -- and that's acceptable."

Abdullah teaches computer science at Thompson Rivers University and is also an instructor in pilates and yoga.

He said he owns six to eight pairs of shorts, one of them bought at Wal-Mart more than 10 years ago.

"I'm not going to change my style, not when I'm half a century old," he said. "I'm just going to keep wearing what I wear."



Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Man crosses tracks during live safety spot

LANGLEY GREEN, England (UPI) -- The makers of a BBC TV spot about crime and safety on British railways said the live special accidentally featured a man running across the path of a train.

BBC reporter Richard Westcott had been delivering the message at a Langley Green, England, railroad crossing when a man appeared over his shoulder, ducked under the lowering level-crossing barriers and walked across the tracks in the path of the oncoming speeding train, the Daily Mail reported.

A Network Rail spokesman said people running across the tracks while fast-moving trains approach is far from uncommon in Langley Green.

"Youngsters and adults alike break the law jumping over the barriers," he said.

The spokesman reiterated that ignoring barriers and warning lights is a dangerous pursuit.

"Trains in this country can run as fast as 125 mph and take up to half a mile to come to a halt," he said.



Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Lost tortoise found nearly a mile away

NORTH LINDEN, Ohio (UPI) -- An Ohio couple said their beloved pet tortoise is home again after almost a week of wandering following its escape.

Lisa Dupler and Nicole Zahrndt of North Linden said they tirelessly covered the neighborhood in more than 100 "missing-tortoise" signs and offered a $100 reward for the safe return of Ophelia -- a male African Spur Thigh tortoise -- after the tortoise tunneled underneath their backyard fence Wednesday, the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reported.

The pair said their lucky break came when they got a phone call from Stacy Sturgill, whose boyfriend, Louis Maher, had seen a story in the Dispatch about a missing tortoise and spotted the animal outside Sturgill's apartment, nearly a mile from the tortoise's home.

Dupler and Zahrndt said they were so delighted by Ophelia's return they upped the finder's fee to $120, which Sturgill and Maher said they plan to spend on an air-conditioner.

Ophelia's family said they plan to make their fences deeper because African Spur Thigh tortoises can burrow up to 30 inches deep and make tunnels up to 10 feet long.



Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Police: Man tried to sell fake TV

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. (UPI) -- Police in California, acting on a tip that a man tried to sell a flat screen TV for $100, said they detained a man and found a TV box containing an oven door.

San Leandro police said the man was pulled over last week and officers noticed a box in his car purporting to contain a brand-new, 37-inch Sony TV -- but all they found inside the box was a glass oven door disguised as a television, the Oakland (Calif.) Tribune reported.

Police said they pulled the man over because of an anonymous call from someone who said a man tried to sell him a TV for $100 out of his car in a Wal-Mart parking lot and gave police a description of the beige 1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass.

The man, Anthony Myles, 52, was arrested on a charge of driving on a suspended license. Police said no other charges were filed.



Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Boy, 9, lands 150-pound shark

BURIEN, Wash. (UPI) -- A 9-year-old Washington state boy said it took him almost an hour to land a 150-pound sixgill shark while fishing with his grandparents near Burien.

Cosmo Miller, 9, said he used a 30-pound test line to reel in the shark while fishing last week with his grandparents in Puget Sound, The Seattle Times reported.

"It was really hard," Cosmo said, "but I had a really big fishing pole."

The boy, who released the shark after taking pictures for posterity, said it wasn't his first encounter with a sixgill shark. He said he broke two poles fishing for sharks before he landed his prize catch using dogfish as bait.

Dave Woltz, his grandfather, said watching Cosmo wrestle with the shark was quite a sight to behold.

"It was quite a thrill watching a 9-year-old kid pull in that fish," he said. "We had been fishing for about four hours and were ready to come in when all of a sudden he hooks this big thing. His face was beet red, and I offered to help him, but he said no."

Cosmo said the shark was the largest fish he had ever hauled in, far surpassing his previous personal record of a 27-pound salmon.



Copyright 2009 by United Press International

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CIARRA ALEXANDRIA

Like any proud Grandma, today I take time to say Happy Birthday to my granddaughter, Ciarra Alexandria Thompson on her 7th Birthday.

My little Princess Aurora II is 7 years old and following in her grandma´s steps by being a dancer, a talker and a very intelligent little girl.

I love you baby girl.

From Princess Aurora I
(Grandma Brenda)

Clinton, 2 journalists depart NKorea for US

By JEAN H. LEE, Associated Press Writer Jean H. Lee, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 48 mins ago
SEOUL, South Korea – Former President Bill Clinton brought two freed U.S. journalists out of North Korea early Wednesday following rare talks with reclusive leader Kim Jong Il, who pardoned the women sentenced to hard labor for entering the country illegally.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling were heading back to the U.S. with Clinton, his spokesman Matt McKenna said, less than 24 hours after the former U.S. leader landed in the North Korean capital on a private, humanitarian trip to secure their release.

The women, dressed in short-sleeved shirts and jeans, appeared healthy as they climbed the steps to the plane and shook hands with Clinton before getting into the jet, APTN footage in Pyongyang showed. Clinton waved, put his hand over his heart and then saluted.

North Korean officials waved as the plane took off. McKenna said the flight was bound for Los Angeles, where the journalists will be reunited with their families. The White House had no comment.

Their departure was a jubilant conclusion to a more than four-month ordeal for the women arrested near the North Korean-Chinese border in March while on a reporting trip for Current TV, the media venture founded by former Vice President Al Gore. They were sentenced in June to 12 years of hard labor for illegal entry and engaging in "hostile acts."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had urged North Korea last month to grant them amnesty, saying they were remorseful and their families anguished.

North Korean media characterized the women's release as proof of "humanitarian and peace-loving policy."

Their families said they were "overjoyed" by the pardon. Lee, 36, a South Korean-born U.S. citizen, is the mother of a 4-year-old. Ling, a 32-year-old California native, is the younger sister of Lisa Ling, a correspondent for CNN as well as "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "National Geographic Explorer."

Clinton's landmark trip to Pyongyang also resulted in rare talks with reclusive Kim Jong Il that state-run media described as "wide-ranging" and "exhaustive." The meeting was Kim's first with a prominent Western figure since reportedly suffering a stroke nearly a year ago.

While the White House emphasized the private nature of Clinton's trip, his landmark visit to Pyongyang to free the Americans was a coup that came at a time of heightened tensions over North Korea's nuclear program.

State media said Clinton apologized on behalf of the women and relayed President Barack Obama's gratitude. The report said the visit would "contribute to deepening the understanding" between North Korea and the United States.

The meeting also appeared aimed at dispelling persistent questions about the health of the authoritarian North Korean leader, who was said to be suffering from chronic diabetes and heart disease before the reported stroke.

Kim smiled broadly for a photo standing next to a towering Clinton. He was markedly thinner than a year ago, with his graying hair cropped short. The once-pudgy 67-year-old, who for decades had a noticeable pot belly, wore a khaki jumpsuit and appeared frail and diminutive in a group shot seated next to a robust Clinton.

The journalists' release followed weeks of quiet negotiations between the State Department and the North Korean mission to the United Nations, said Daniel Sneider, associate director of research at Stanford University's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center.

Clinton "didn't go to negotiate this, he went to reap the fruits of the negotiation," Sneider said.

Pardoning Ling and Lee and having Clinton serving as their emissary served both North Korea's need to continue maintaining that the two women had committed a crime and the Obama administration's desire not to expend diplomatic capital winning their freedom, Sneider said.

"Nobody wanted this to be a distraction from the more substantially difficult issues we have with North Korea," he said. "There was a desire by the administration to resolve this quietly and from the very beginning they didn't allow it to become a huge public issue."

Speaking out for the first time since their capture, Gore said in a joint statement with Current co-founder Joel Hyatt that everyone at the media outlet was overjoyed by the prospect of their safe return. "Our hearts go out to them and to their families for persevering through this horrible experience," it said.

The Lee and Ling families thanked Obama, the secretary of state and the State Department.

"We especially want to thank President Bill Clinton for taking on such an arduous mission and Vice President Al Gore for his tireless efforts to bring Laura and Euna home," it said. "We are counting the seconds to hold Laura and Euna in our arms."

The Committee to Protect Journalists also welcomed their release.

In North Korea, Clinton was accorded honors typically reserved for heads of state. Senior officials, led by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, who also serves as the regime's chief nuclear negotiator, met his private unmarked plane as it arrived Tuesday morning.

Video from the APTN television news agency showed Clinton exchanging warm handshakes with officials and accepting a bouquet of flowers from a schoolgirl.

Kim later hosted a banquet for Clinton at the state guesthouse, Radio Pyongyang and the Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported. The VIPs and Kim posed for a group shot in front of the same garish mural depicting a stormy seaside landscape that Clinton's secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, posed for during her historic visit to Pyongyang in 2000.

North Korean state media said Clinton and Kim held wide-ranging talks, adding that Clinton "courteously" conveyed a verbal message from Obama.

In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs denied Clinton went with a message from Obama. "That's not true," he told reporters.

In the past, envoys have been dispatched to Pyongyang to secure the release of Americans. In the 1990s, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a congressman at the time, went twice on similar missions: in 1994 to arrange the freedom of a U.S. pilot whose helicopter strayed into North Korean airspace and again two years later to fetch an American detained for three months on spying charges.

Richardson, Clinton and Gore, Clinton's vice president, had all been named as possible envoys to bring back Lee and Ling.

However, the decision to send Clinton was kept quiet, revealed only when he turned up Tuesday in Pyongyang accompanied by John Podesta, his one-time White House chief of staff, who also is an informal adviser to Obama.

The trip was reminiscent of one 15 years ago by former President Jimmy Carter when Clinton was in office, also at a time of tensions over North Korea's nuclear program.

Carter's visit — he met with Kim Jong Il's father, the late Kim Il Sung — helped thaw the deep freeze in relations with the Korean War foe and paved the way for discussions on nuclear disarmament. Clinton later sent Albright to Pyongyang for talks with Kim in a high point in the often rocky relations with North Korea.

Discussions about normalizing ties went dead when George W. Bush took office in 2001 with a hard-line policy on Pyongyang. The Obama administration has expressed a willingness to hold bilateral talks — but only within the framework of the six-nation disarmament talks in place since 2003.

North Korea announced earlier this year it was abandoning the talks involving the two Koreas, Japan, Russia, China and the U.S. The regime also launched a long-range rocket, conducted a nuclear test, test-fired a barrage of ballistic missiles and restarted its atomic program in defiance of international criticism and the U.N. Security Council.

Last month, the U.S. Navy tailed a North Korean cargo ship as it sailed south suspected of carrying cargo banned under a U.N. resolution on board until the vessel turned around and returned to port.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry recently had harsh words for Clinton's wife, describing her as "a funny lady" who sometimes "looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping."

Kim inherited leadership of impoverished North Korea upon his father's death in 1994, 20 years after being anointed the heir apparent. Kim has not publicly named his successor but is believed to be grooming his third son, 26-year-old Jong Un, to take over.

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Associated Press writers Anne Gearan in Washington, Samantha Young in Sacramento, Calif., Lisa Leff in San Francisco and AP researcher Jasmine Zhao in Beijing contributed to this report.