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 News from Around the Americas | August 2007 
Driver a Little Bit Too Late for Brake Job
 UPI
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| | A van sits in the front window of ‘Say Dez School of Safe Driving’ after an accident in Hamilton, Ontario. The elderly couple driving the van was shaken up after the accident. (AP) |
Longview, Wash. - A man who crashed his car into an automobile service center this week in Longview, Wash., had been heading there to get a brake job.
The unidentified driver admitted that while going to the service center, the car's brakes stopped working and he sped through the front window of the business, the Longview (Wash.) Daily-News reported Wednesday.
Longview patrolman Erik Hendrickson said the force of the impact was so strong a large portion of the car wound up inside the building.
"The entire hood went into the store. Six or eight feet of the car was inside the store," Hendrickson said.
While the driver sent the car to another facility for repair following Monday's crash, the manager of the damaged center noted how the same thing had happened twice before.
"It's pretty much the same spot, too," manager Ken Millus told the newspaper. "When you hear it, you're not even surprised anymore."
Robbers had Heist Down to Smallest Detail
UPI
Westminster, Calif. - Two thieves made off with $405,000 in California this week by putting their apparently detailed information of an armored car operation to good use.
The Orange County (Calif.) Register said Wednesday the two men not only had the uniforms typically used by the regular armored car drivers, but had the correct labels on their vehicle when they arrived at a money-transfer shop in Westminster, Calif.
The two men had even come to the shop on the regular day for the business' money pick-up, only a bit earlier then usual.
Police said the men collected $405,000 from the site before leaving and it wasn't until the actual armored car guards arrived that the entire scam became apparent.
Officer Van Woodson of the Westminster Police Department could only remark at how aggressive and confident the two at-large criminals had been during Tuesday's theft.
"It really took a lot of nerve," he told the Register. "These guys just went in there, said 'hi, we're here.' They took the money, and left."
Millionaire Sparing no Cost in Dog Search
UPI
Steinkjer, Norway - A multi-millionaire in Norway who lost his two dogs last week has spared no expense in his search for them, including hiring psychics and helicopter searches.
While the younger of the two dogs has since returned to Norwegian financier Ole Bjornevik, he continued to pull out all stops in his search for his remaining lost pet, Aftenposten said Wednesday.
Bjornevik not only flew his private helicopter dangerously low in his search for the dogs in Norway's Nord-Trondelag County, but the multi-millionaire even brought in several psychics for a supernatural assist since they disappeared last Friday.
But ultimately the younger dog simply came home on its own without its mother, prompting concern that something may have happened to the elder canine.
"That's a bad sign, for the pup to return without its mother," Bjornevik's hunting partner Kaare Gisvold told Aftenposten. "It means something may have happened to the mother."
Wikipedia Being Used as Public Image Site
UPI
London - Officials connected to the CIA and Britain's Labor Party have altered Wikipedia entries in an attempt to enhance those groups' public image, a report shows.
A new Web site that tracks Internet activity found individuals connected to both organizations made alterations to online definitions in an attempt to gain additional public support, The Telegraph reported Wednesday.
Among the CIA-based changes were editorial changes to Wikipedia entries about former U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
The online editorial efforts didn't mark the first time a specific group was accused of purposefully altering its Wikipedia entry in order to obtain a more favorable description.
The technology giant Microsoft previously revealed it had paid an individual to alter specific details on Wikipedia about some of the company's products.
The British newspaper said that in addition to the Labor Party, several U.S. politicians have been linked to online corrections aimed at producing overall more positive Wikipedia entries. |
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