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Not with a Whimper - Particle scientists have brought us the A-bomb, the H-bomb, and the neutron bomb. Now, physicists at Brookhaven National Lab on Long Island are worried that they could collapse the Earth into a black hole. An upcoming experiment at the Heavy Ion Collider will smash gold nuclei, going almost the speed of light in opposite directions, into one another -- generating trillion-degree explosions and releasing more strange quarks than have been in one place since the Big Bang. Scientists are concerned that the high density at the explosion could either form a chain reaction, turning nearby matter into strange quarks, or form a small black hole that could eat the Earth. Further study is needed. [Wired News]
Nursing a Grudge - If you don't think it's expensive to send two kids through school, consider the case of George and Tracy Miller, a couple of on-call nurses at a Scottsdale, Arizona, hospital. In order to help build a college fund for their children -- one 11 and the other 5 -- the enterprising Millers created a pay-per-view Web site. What you're paying for is the chance to see the couple having sex. Some of their colleagues got wind of it, the hospital administration found out about it, and the Millers haven't been called to work a shift in more than two weeks. George, for one, isn't going to take this, er, lying down. "We're not giving up. I'll fight this until my heart stops." And since he's a nurse, he'll know when that is. [Wired News]
Nuts About Guns - Columbine High School reopened for the fall term Monday, with students and administrators determined to put the bloody campus rampage that left 15 people dead behind them. The echos of the April slaughter didn't extend to Mancos, Colorado, however, where the local Lions Club sponsored a gun show over the weekend at the high school there. Only one teacher in the town of 1,000 people even bothered protesting, calling it inappropriate to hold a gun show at a high school in light of what happened at Columbine, which is about 240 miles from Mancos. The show was well attended, too; at 3 bucks a pop, the Lions raked in around $2,000. Now that's a fine take, don't you think? [Wired News]
OJ and the Law - Given the low esteem with which attorneys are already held by the average American, OJ Simpson seems a queer choice to pitch a legal referral service, but there you are. Simpson, who certainly can't deny getting some pretty decent legal help in a pinch, made a video appearance on behalf of Justice Media, saying he believes all defendants have the same right to competent legal representation. He's not getting paid, beyond expenses, and says his motives are altruistic: Justice Media is aimed at minority defendants. Simpson says he's been reading a lot lately about cases where people serving long sentences have been subsequently released when their innocence was finally proven. Wistfully, no doubt. [Wired News]
OJ on the Block - Before becoming famous as an accused murderer, OJ Simpson was known as a pretty good football player. The detritus of that former life -- including the Heisman trophy he won in 1968 as the nation's top college player -- goes on the auction block Tuesday night to help raise the money he must pay to settle the wrongful-death judgment awarded to the family of his late wife. Butterfield and Butterfield will auction the memorabilia from its Los Angeles digs, but at least part of the proceedings will be conducted online, from Butterfield's Web site. [Wired News]
Ocalan to Die - Abdullah Ocalan, the rebel leader blamed for 37,000 deaths during a 15-year struggle for Kurdish independence in southeastern Turkey, has been sentenced to death by a Turkish court. Ocalan, convicted of treason, has been bargaining for his life while on trial, promising that his Kurdistan Workers Party would work for peace if he is spared, while warning of a terrorist bloodbath if he is hanged. Turkey is on a heightened state of alert, as are a number of European countries with large Kurdish minorities. Meanwhile, Ocalan's defense lawyers say they will appeal his conviction to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. [Wired News]
Off and Running - Anticipating a protracted struggle with first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for a vacant New York Senate seat next year, Big Apple Mayor Rudolph Giuliani launched HillaryNo.com over the weekend. The Web site features a picture of a smiling Hillary sitting above what may become Giuliani's battle cry: "US Senate: For Proven Leaders, Not a Proving Ground." Giuliani is having his own problems right now, with polls showing that his approval rating has slipped in the wake of the NYPD slaying of an African immigrant. Nevertheless, the same poll shows that the Republican mayor has managed to gain ground on Mrs. Clinton in their projected Senate race. [Wired News]
Off the Mark? - Americans like their guns, and even last week's bloodbath in Littleton, Colorado, can't change that. President Clinton, pushing for tougher gun-control legislation in the wake of the slaughter at Columbine High School, pleaded with gun owners not to oppose his new crime-fighting package that includes new restrictions on firearms. One part of the plan already drawing fire would hold parents responsible for gun crimes committed by their children, which some legislators think is not only unduly harsh, but legally tenuous. Clinton's bill would also raise the age for buying explosives or guns from 18 to 21 and require that background checks be run on anyone purchasing firearms, even if it's from a gun show. An (unscientific) ABC.com poll accompanying the story shows that while Americans may have been shocked by last week's events, they remain steadfastly opposed to gun control: Fully two-thirds of the respondents said they think Clinton's bill goes too far. [Wired News]
Off the Racks - JCPenney has yanked a line of young men's basketball shirts with trash-talking messages about girls. A spokeswoman for the feminist Center for Advancement of Public Policy says lines like "Your game is as ugly as your girl" are insulting and dehumanizing to women. It's the second time this year the retailer has yielded to customer concerns about its clothing. In April, Penney's pulled a line of South Park shirts that featured messages by the TV show's notoriously foul-mouthed characters. [Wired News]
Office Shootings: 3 Slain - A 34-year-old man is in custody following a shooting rampage at two businesses in suburban Birmingham, Alabama Thursday that left three employees dead. The suspect, who has not been identified, was arrested following a car chase down state Highway 31 in Pelham. The victims were reportedly employed by Post Airgas and Ferguson Enterprises, both located in Pelham, a town of about 12,000 located 15 miles south of Birmingham. [Wired News]
Oh, Behave, Baby ... - Believe it or not, there's an 11-year-old kid out there who doesn't know what the word "horny" means. That's his mom's story, and she's sticking to it after filing a complaint against Toys 'R' Us for marketing an Austin Powers action figure that asks the question: "Do I make you horny, baby?" Tamara Brannon, who lives in a suburb of Atlanta, said she was compelled to explain the meaning of the word after her son picked up the doll at the store. "I feel this toy had basically pushed us into a vocabulary word that he would never had known to ask," Brannon said. If young Master Brannon has seen Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, it must be presumed that he knows what "horny" means. And a few other words besides. [Wired News]
Okie Pokey - Tulsa is not exactly a town renowned for its fleshpots. But how blue can a bluenose be? Two sorry saps in the Oklahoma burg are a little closer to finding out, after a judge ruled that they can be prosecuted for selling copies of Penthouse magazine, for gosh sake, to some undercover cops. William Gregory, 29, and Darrell Penn, 32, face up to 15 years in the slammer and a US$25,000 fine for violating the state's obscenity laws, which specifically proscribe selling depictions of sexual intercourse or "unnatural copulation." This is the same state -- Oklahoma City, to be precise -- where the cops went door to door, scooping up copies of the Oscar-winning film, The Tin Drum, because of a scene that depicted a minor having sex. [Wired News]
Old Bones - Fossils of an apparent human ancestor believed to have lived 5 million years ago have been discovered in Ethiopia. A team of researchers found the fossils in the Awash Valley, where the 3.2 million-year-old partial skeleton of an early hominid called Lucy was discovered in 1974. [Wired News]
Old Dog, New Tricks - If your aging hound is showing symptoms of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (or senility, in little words), take heart. A new drug, Anipryl, has been approved for use after helping reduce the symptoms associated with canine senility: confusion, loss of sleep, pacing, uncontrolled urination, and estrangement from family members. Another drug, Clomicalm, reportedly helps dogs deal with separation anxiety, a common problem. Now that's something to bark about. [Wired News]
Old Fossil - Alas, it wasn't Jimmy Hoffa's skull that turned up at Maxilla and Mandible, Ltd., a Manhattan shop specializing in natural history curiosities, but in the end it will probably prove to be more valuable. According to The New York Times, the fossilized skull -- which includes most of the cranium but is missing the upper and lower jaws -- probably belonged to a young man from the Indonesian branch of early Homo erectus. The specimen is roughly half the size of a modern skull and the evidence suggests that this fellow lived at a time when humans were just beginning to develop the capacity to speak. While that may sound like a Teamster boss, the timing isn't right. Scientists believe the skull may be a million years old. Hoffa only disappeared in 1975. [Wired News]
Oliver Stoned? - Film director Oliver Stone was arrested in Beverly Hills Wednesday for drunken driving and possession of hashish. Los Angeles police spotted the erratic driver shortly before midnight and "an enforcement stop" was made, at which time they discovered the pot. Stone posted bail and is scheduled to appear in court on 16 July. [Wired News]
Out of Fashion - Sears has pulled a shotgun-toting doll from its catalog after complaints that it bears a disturbing resemblance to the Columbine High School killers. The doll, known as "The Villain," wears a black trenchcoat and comes armed with a shotgun and a rifle (in case the shotgun runs out of buckshot). It is marketed to kids 5 and older. 21st Century, the company that makes the doll, hauled "The Villain" back for a wardrobe change, but the president was stung by the criticism. "It was just an unfortunate coincidence for us that those idiots at Columbine were wearing trench coats," said Scott Allen. Yeah, lousy break, man. [Wired News]
Out of Sight - In a rare closed-door session Monday, senators debated a motion by Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) to dismiss the articles of impeachment against President Clinton. The vote on dismissal, to be taken after the Senate hears arguments Tuesday on a motion to depose witnesses, is expected to fail. The American public appears to favor a different outcome -- in a poll by CNN, USA Today, and Gallup, released Sunday, two-thirds of Americans said they wanted the trial to end immediately. [Wired News]
Outconned - A con artist trying to cash in on the recent Beanie Baby craze may have outconned himself by allegedly insulting his Internet victims. James Denlinger was arrested Wednesday in Sonoma County, California, after detectives -- responding to a complaint by one of the victims -- spent a month following his trail. By auctioning off the rare Beanie Babies for up to US$1,000 each on the Internet, Denlinger may have conned over $100,000 from his victims. Denlinger posted a message on a Internet bulletin board saying: "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Never see the person, never meet the person, never speak with the person and then get upset when you get ripped off. You must be a bunch of morons." Now who's the moron? [Wired News]
Pachyderm Peril - The specter of rogue elephants trampling hapless bystanders to death was apprarently too much for California Congressman Sam Farr to bear, so he's introduced legislation banning the use of elephants in circuses, traveling shows, and rides nationwide. Farr says he decided to push the ban in response to the increasing number of elephant rampages that have injured and killed dozens of animal handlers and spectators. Of course, there's always the possiblility that Farr, a Democrat, isn't all that fond of elephants anyway. [Wired News]
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