In the News; April 8, 2008

Looks like there are some angry people when it comes to the Olympic torch. From what we hear in the US, the torch has been met by protesters. The Olympic torch arrived for its only North American stop amid heavy security Tuesday, a day after its visit to Paris descended into chaos and activists here scaled the Golden Gate Bridge to protest China's human rights record.

Meanwhile, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said the committee would consider ending the international leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay because of the protests.

The torch's global journey was supposed to highlight China's growing economic and political power. But activists opposing China's human rights policies and a recent crackdown on Tibet have been protesting along the torch's 85,000-mile route since the start of the flame's odyssey from Ancient Olympia in Greece to Beijing, host of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

A letter from Abraham Lincoln written in 1864 about anti-slavery was auctioned for a record $3.4 million , Sotheby's auction house said, setting a new record for the 16th U.S. president.

Wild Turkeys have been attacking postal workers in Madison, Wisc. About five to 10 of the birds have been pecking at the postal workers as they make their rounds, and some of the birds have attacked the letter carriers with the sharp spurs on their legs. One of the birds went through the open door of a mail truck and scratched the driver. According to wildlife officials, the behavior is clearly tied to the breeding season, which started recently and runs through about mid-May. Postal workers were armed with water pistols.

Photo of the day


A French prosecutor has said that Chantal Sebire -- a severely disfigured woman, who was found dead after a court rejected her request for euthanasia -- took a lethal overdose of barbiturates.
(AFP/File/Jeff Pachoud)