Omaha man uses steak knife to perform self-tracheotomy May 9, 2008

An Omaha man struggling to breathe used a steak knife to perform an at-home tracheotomy. Steve Wilder said he thought he was going to die when he awoke one night last week and couldn’t breath.

Wilder said he didn’t call 911 because he didn’t think help would arrive in time. So, the 55-year-old says, he got a steak knife from the kitchen and made a small hole in his throat, allowing air to gush in.

Wilder suffered from throat cancer and related breathing problems several years ago. About that time, he had an episode where he couldn’t breath because his air passages swelled shut. He said that’s what happened this time around.

Doctors don’t expect Wilder to suffer any adverse affects from the tracheotomy once it’s healed.

Iguana causes power outage for 20,000 in Florida May 9, 2008

POMPANO BEACH, Fla - Power has been restored to 20,000 people in north Broward County, after an iguana caused a short circuit. The critter came in contact with some high-voltage equipment, which triggered Thursday’s outage.

Electricity was out for roughly half an hour.

The iguana wasn’t as lucky. Florida Power & Light spokesman Mayco Villafana says: “It’s gone to another place.”

Volcanic Cloud May 9, 2008

A cloud of smoke and ash fills the sky after the eruption of the Chaiten volcano in southern Chile. The eruption, which began May 2, spewed incandescent material and blasted ash some 20 miles into the Andean sky, forcing authorities into a complete evacuation of the area.

New Zealand cafe mistakes dishwashing liquid for wine May 9, 2008

Two women were hospitalized after a New Zealand cafe mistakenly served dishwashing liquid as mulled wine, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

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Chico’s Restaurant Ltd. in the mountain resort of Queenstown on South Island pleaded guilty to a charge of selling food containing extraneous matter — the chemical sodium hydroxide — that caused injury, the Southland Times newspaper said.

Prosecutor Sarah McKenzie told Queenstown District Court that the two women were taken to a hospital after drinking the liquid last July, the newspaper reported.

Customer Sarah Ferguson had ordered a glass of “Mountain Thunder” mulled wine from Queenstown’s Old Man Rock Cafe, owned by Chico’s Restaurant Ltd.

She spat out the liquid when she experienced a burning sensation on her lips and mouth.

Cafe worker Bethany Sim offered to test the drink and suffered a similar reaction.

“A check by cafe management indicated that a mulled wine container had unfortunately been filled with dishwashing detergent,” McKenzie told the court.

An investigation showed the two liquids had been mixed up after 5.2 gallons of dishwashing liquid was delivered in a container formerly used to hold “Mountain Thunder” mulled wine.

The court heard Sim suffered burns and possible scaring of her throat and esophagus from the chemical mix.

Under New Zealand’s no-fault accident law, victims do not sue for damages. Instead, treatment costs and income loss are met by the nation’s Accident Compensation scheme.

The company will be sentenced next month and faces a possible fine.

Woman Sues Connecticut Town For Dog Poo May 9, 2008

NORWALK, Conn.—A New York woman has filed a $100 claim against Norwalk saying a family outing to the Maritime Aquarium was ruined by dog feces. The woman claims her child’s shoes, along with the entire outing, were ruined when her 1-year-old stepped in dog feces outside the Maritime Garage.

City attorney M. Jeffry Spahr said the official response is that her claim is denied and in his words, “poop happens.”

Kelly DeBrocky, of Mahopac, N.Y., wants the city to reimburse her for $54 she spent replacing her toddler’s ruined shoes and the expenses for parking and aquarium admission on April 5.

Wacky Celebrity Hair: Cher Goes Bleached Blonde May 9, 2008

 

Wowser! Cher’s bad hairdo makes me want to curl up and dye.

Hulk Hogan’s Son Enters ‘No Contest’ Plea May 9, 2008

Terry “Hulk” Hogan’s 17-year-old son, Nick Bollea, entered a plea of “no contest” in a Florida courtroom Friday on charges of felony reckless driving.

The charges stem from the August 2007 car crash that left his friend, passenger John Graziano, critically injured to this day.

As part of the plea agreement, Bollea’s attorneys asked that their client not serve more than one year in county jail and five years of probation.

Without the plea arrangement, Bollea could have faced up to five years in state prison.

The sentencing portion of the hearing began immediately following Nick’s plea, which streamed live on TMZ.com.

Hulk Hogan (real name: Terry Bollea), his daughter Brooke and his estranged wife Linda were all present and seated near one other in the Clearwater, Fla., courtroom.

Prosecution and Family Speak
During the sentencing portion of the hearing, prosecutors presented, among other evidence, the statements of 12 witnesses who claimed Bollea was drag racing on wet roads at the time of the accident as well as records of his being ticketed for speeding in the past.

Ed Graziano, father of John Graziano, then made an emotional statement to the court: “John was my first born son, and the first chance to carry on my family name.” Describing the day before the accident, he said John “was healthy, he was safe, and he was strong. He was a hero. He was a United States Marine. He was willing to put his life in harm’s way to protect his country’s freedom, [but] what Al Queda could not do to my son, Nick did to my son in minutes.”

Now it is questionable whether John will ever be able to communicate with his family and friends, said his father, adding that that his son’s mental and physical disabilities would be permanent. He also said, “Nick has shown no remorse for what he has done for my son’s life.”

John’s sister, Kristen Carson, also spoke, saying of Nick, “We have never once heard him apologize. He has never said sorry.”

John Graziano’s long-term girlfriend then spoke, talking of dreams of a beach house and having children together – dreams that are now gone.

The Hogans Respond
Nick Bollea spoke on his own behalf, telling the court, “I miss John being around me all the time. I know this has been extremely difficult for the Grazianos, and it has also been extremely difficult to my family, and I feel terrible about it.”

Apologizing for what occurred, he said, “Every single day I think about the accident, and I think about John. There will never be a day in my life that I don’t.”

Hulk Hogan, wearing a black business suit and black ‘do rag, assumed a somber tone, saying, “Our family has been devastated and pretty much torn apart by this situation also. John was like a family member to us.”

Of his own son, he said, “Nick is not the person that he’s been asked to be portrayed on TV. … Nick is a good person. He is kind, he is gentle, he’s compassionate, and he doesn’t have a bad bone in his body. And people fail to realize that Nick is still a 17-year-old child.”

Nick’s sister Brooke said, “I’m not here to smooth things over, or to point fingers … These were two boys, two friends having fun together.”

Update: 3 Friends Drive Through 48 States In 106 Hours May 9, 2008

On Monday, three friends left Vermont on a quest to drive through all 48 contiguous states in the U.S. in under 120 hours.

It was all in an effort to break an old Guinness record. Guinness no longer recognizes cross-country speed races officially, but that didn’t stop Joshua Keeler, Joey Stocking and Adam Gatherum from packing up a 2005 Toyota Scion and trying.

On Thursday afternoon they completed their goal and obliterated the unofficial record when 106 hours and 43 minutes after they left Vermont, they reached the Four Corners where New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Utah meet.

The three guys in their early 20s documented their progress along the way on their Web site, greatamericanroadtrip.us , with pictures, progress updates and blogs. They also used a global positioning system to help document and prove that they had in fact touched all 48 states.
“Well, we made it. And we decimated our goal. We covered 48 states in 7,008 miles and did it in 106 hours and 43 minutes,” the three wrote on their blog after reaching the Four Corners. “We couldn’t be happier!! We have seen so much and had an amazing time. The three of us would like to thank all of you who have been along for the ride.”

Not long after they started the trip, their Web site started to get them attention from all over the country and soon from all over the world. The three friends from Utah found themselves doing a lot of media phone interviews from the road.

“We did not expect at all the kind of stuff that’s going on,” said James Keeler, Joshua’s father. “It’s news in Europe, South America, Asia, even Australia.”

They also received a lot of e-mails and comments on their site from people who were tracking their progress and cheering them on.

“We’ve gotten lots of comments and e-mails and things from people who we have inspired them to go and take their trip before it’s too late, or before things happen that will go and make it impossible,” said Keeler. “We’re really pleased with that kind of response and happy we’re helping people to go and live out their dreams, too.”

The idea for the trip originated 15 years ago with the elder Keeler, who planned on trying to break the Guinness record with two of his friends.

“I did it all using paper maps, which means I had to calculate every mile between every town and city in the country by hand,” said James. “It took me six months working on the maps every day.”

Just before he was getting ready to leave on the trip, James’ mother died and as a result the trip never happened. He also said he has had blood clots in his lungs several times and it prevents him from being able to sit for more than a few hours at a time, which made the trip no longer possible.

Then, last September, Joshua came to him with an idea.

“He came to me back in September and said, ‘Dad, do you still have all the maps?’” recalled James. “He grew up with it, starting at age nine, and saw me planning it and he came to me in September and said, ‘We’re going to do the trip.’”

Using his father’s maps and research, Keeler, Stocking and Gatherum chose a route that took them down the East Coast and then looped through the South. From there they zigzagged through the Midwest, cut across the Pacific Northwest, and then looped through California and Nevada before reaching the Four Corners.

The trip took them to many places they had never seen before and many places they said they would like to come back to.

“We’ve seen quite a bit,” said Keeler. “Personally, I really liked going through Maine and the New England area. It seemed like a neat place and there would be a lot to see out there. And that’s someplace that I think I would really like to go back.”

Their trip and Web site seems to have inspired many other people to undertake their own cross-country trips.

“My whole office has been following your adventure, wishing we were young and free and able to do it ourselves,” said one comment on their blog from someone who identified themselves as Greg. “It’s been fun to watch. I think lots of us have talked and dreamed about doing something like your trip, and it’s been great to see someone do more than talk and dream about it.”

Lindsay Lohan Accused of More Thievery May 9, 2008

Lindsay Lohan’s enemies are coming out of hiding in the wake of her fur-coat controversy – and now a model is rehashing her claims that Lohan stole her clothing as well.

The same week a Columbia University student insisted Lohan swiped her $11,000 blond mink coat in New York City earlier this year, model Lauren Hastings says on the buzznet.com Web site that Lindsay lifted thousands of dollars worth of items from her closet, Inside Edition reports.

“Basically, I have two closets, a lot of the stuff was missing out of one and the next closet was almost completely empty,” Hastings says on a video featured on the buzznet site, claiming her things disappeared during an unauthorized late-night party tossed by her housesitter.

Citing five witnesses, Hastings, 23, also alleges, “They all said they saw Lindsay Lohan basically in my closet, handing a bag of clothes to her bodyguard.”

In an email to PEOPLE, Lohan’s rep responds: “This is all not true. It’s not what it seems.”

Police reportedly searched for the missing items, but they were not recovered. According to documents that Inside Edition obtained from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, Hastings did report the theft of clothing, but the DA’s office pressed no charges against Lohan, due to insufficient evidence.

Said Hastings: “I contacted Lindsay and said, ‘Look, I know you stole my clothes.’ She then said I was completely delusional, I was pathetic.”

Hurricane Katrina Victim Wins $97 Million Dollar Lottery May 9, 2008

A construction company owner who lost two homes in Hurricane Katrina claimed a $97 million Powerball prize, a jackpot won off a ticket he bought at a convenience store where he stopped to buy his wife a gallon of milk.

Carl Hunter ran to the store to pick up some milk for his wife. As a result, he became $97 million richer.

When he turned in the winning ticket, Carl Hunter became the largest Powerball winner in Louisiana’s history. He won the jackpot in January, but the 73-year-old small businessman waited nearly four months to claim the prize.

An avid lottery player, Hunter said he already had bought a Powerball ticket on Jan. 16 at the gas station less than two blocks from his home in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie. But he stopped at the station again that day to buy milk — at the request of his wife, Dianne — and got a second “quick pick” ticket.

“I had some change, and one dollar was used to buy this ticket,” Hunter said Thursday at the Louisiana Lottery Corp. headquarters in Baton Rouge, where he claimed his prize.

“It’s all about milk,” his wife said, smiling.

The couple, surrounded by cameras, was decidedly low-key about the multimillion dollar win, saying they didn’t have specific plans for the money — besides retirement and the rebuilding of a camp lost to Katrina.

“I’m retiring, you know, naturally,” Carl Hunter said.

Hunter took a lump sum payment that will give him $33.9 million after taxes, according to lottery officials. Asked why he waited so long to turn in the winning ticket, Hunter said he wanted to wrap up some of his construction work and finish his outstanding contracts. In fact, Hunter’s wife Dianne said he was still at work this week.

“I don’t think about buying elaborate cars or homes,” Carl Hunter said.

Hunter said he owned two homes that were destroyed in 2005 by Katrina, and he and his wife moved into a Metairie home she owned after the storm, the home that was near the gas station where he bought his winning ticket.

The multimillion dollar win wasn’t Hunter’s first winning lottery ticket. He said he won $5,000 off a ticket a few years ago.

West Metairie Shell, the gas station where Hunter bought his ticket, will get $25,000 for selling the winning ticket. The station, tucked among brick ranch homes and raised wooden houses in a middle-class neighborhood, lost its roof during Katrina, and the store was looted.