THEY'VE FLIPPED: The announced merger between Chevron Corp. and
Phillips Petroleum Co. hit a minor snag when it came time to name the
new, combined, company. "Lots of names were suggested," a Chevron
spokesman said, but it came down to Chevron wanting Chevron-Phillips,
and Phillips wanting Phillips-Chevron. To decide, the companies
had a special gold coin struck, and a group of executives tossed
the coin. Chevron-Phillips won. (AP) ...Call it: heads the oil
companies win, tails the gas-buying consumers lose.
DECISION FLOPPED: Murder, or manslaughter? A jury in Jefferson
County Circuit Court in Louisville, Ky., couldn't quite decide, so
they flipped a coin. Murder, came the verdict against Phillip
Givens, 28, who was charged with killing his girlfriend. Rumors of the
jurors' decision method buzzed around the courthouse and eventually
got back to Judge Kenneth Conliffe, who declared a mistrial. "It's
something I read about in law school," said Givens' lawyer, "but something
I've never seen in 15 years of trial practice." (Reuters) ...Yep, in
Kentucky they usually cut a deck of cards.
HONEY, IT'S FOR YOU: Accident investigators say the car was
airborne for about 150 feet before crashing through the roof of Joanne
and Mahlon Donovan's house in Derry, N.H., at 3:00 a.m. Driven by a
20-year-old woman who was later arrested for drunk driving, the car came
through the ceiling and dropped right over the Donovan's bed. "The
thing was right in front of my face," Mr. Donovan, 65, said. "I could
feel the heat from the exhaust system coming through the sheets."
Still, that wasn't enough to wake his wife. He had to shake her wake
after the crash. (AP) ...There go any awards for "emotional damages."
A 1001 USES! Gemini Wink, 26, of Louisville, Ky., realized he
was lost. While visiting a friend in Tampa, Fla., Wink waded into a
swamp to shoot pictures of alligators. Taking along a roll of duct
tape to mark his path, he was ready to head back around dusk when he
couldn't find his marks. Afraid he would be eaten by 'gators when he fell
asleep, he climbed 40 feet up a tree to keep out of their reach and --
using his ever-more-handy roll -- taped himself to a branch for the
night. Wink's friend called for help when he didn't return by dark, and
sheriff deputies found him in the tree, just 400 yards from his
friend's house, so securely taped down that deputies had to climb up to help
free him. (Reuters) ...Next week, Wink will demonstrate his new duct
tape tiger snare during a breathtaking adventure in India. Don't miss
it!
OK, BUDDY, COUGH UP THE EVIDENCE: After a jewelry store clerk
said Rudolf Nyari, 64, of Hurst, Texas, had stolen a diamond tennis
bracelet, police in Dublin, Ohio, searched him and his car. They
didn't find it. "At first he denied he had the bracelet," a police detective
said. "But once we told him we had the X-ray, he chuckled and joked."
Officers had obtained a search warrant -- of Nyari's body. An X-ray
showed he had swallowed the $17,000 bracelet, and it was still in his
throat. "He drank several glasses of water and smoked cigarettes to
build up enough phlegm to cough it up," the detective said. "It took about
an hour." (AP) ...There you are, kids: the glamorous real life of a
jewel thief.
SKY-HIGH PROPERTY VALUES: Plastic surgeon Dr. William Moore
rented a backhoe to do some serious work in his yard in Boxford,
Mass. It wasn't long before he called the gas company to report a "strong
smell" of natural gas -- he apparently ruptured a gas main with the
heavy equipment. Three minutes later, he called the gas company
again. "The house exploded as he was making the second call," said a gas
company spokesman. "He said, 'Forget it. The house is gone.' " The
five-bedroom home was worth about a half-million dollars. The spokesman
said Dr. Moore did not call before he started his project to find out
if there were any gas lines in the area he was digging. (Boston
Herald) ...Huh: apparently it DOES take a brain surgeon to know to check
that first.
WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE'S FIRE: A year-long study by
England's University College London and the San Luis hospital in
Palencia, Spain, finds that smoking reduces smokers' intelligence. "Our
results indicate that persistent cigarette smoking into late life increases
the risk of cognitive impairment," said Dr. Martin Prince of UCL, adding
that the results are consistent with previous studies showing smoking
reduces blood flow to the brain. (Reuters) ...Either that, or people
who smoke are dumber to begin with.
YOU'RE A UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL, JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE: Despite
strong opposition from parents, the city of Philadelphia, Pa.,
became the first large city in the U.S. to adopt a uniform requirement
for all public-school students. "We need to be dealing with kids who
cannot read or write," complained a parent. "People who make
suggestions like this are people who don't spend any time in school." But to
no avail: the policy goes into effect immediately. School
administrators seem to like the idea, however. "I think it will help add to
uniformity of thought," argued middle school principal Bruce Ryan. Yes,
agreed teacher Bayyinah Abdul-Aleem, "I think it would really help
because it would bring some sort of like-mindedness." (AP) ...Isn't
that why Nazi Germany adopted uniforms for school kids?
MORE CERTIFIED EXPERTS OFFER THEIR TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS:
"Shooting Suspect Said Hot-Tempered", "Crashed Jet May Have Flown Too
Low" -- AP headlines
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