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