Non-Stimulus Package: North Korea Claims to Have Executed Top Finance Adviser

North Korea appears to have a slightly different approach to financial scandals. Rather than handing out billions of dollars of public funds for bonuses and loans, North Korea just shot its top financial official. There appears less of an emphasis on recovery in this plan.

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Detention Dentition: Sheriff’s Office Pays $100,000 to Inmate After Deputy Ripped Cemented Grill Out of His Mouth

In Tennessee, Deputy Tanya Mayhew of the Davidson County Sheriff’s office can scratch dentistry off her list of possible moonlighting jobs. Anthony McCoy, 31, will receive $100,000 after Mayhew ripped his gold grill out of his mouth during booking.

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Coercion to Commit Sin: Dubai Arrests Couple for Sending Explicit Text Messages

We learned recently that you had to be careful how you say goodbye in Dubai (here) after a couple was arrested for kissing on the streets. It appears that you cannot even opt for texting your desires without ending up in the Dubai hoosegow. Two Emirates airlines cabin crew have been ordered jailed for three months over sexually explicit text messages. The Indian flight attendant and her cabin services supervisor were convicted of “coercion to commit sin.”

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Fall From Grace: “Prophet of God” Charged After “Marrying” Ten Year Old Niece

In Minnesota, James Wallace Fall, 58, is accused of marrying his ten-year-old niece. Fall insists that he is a “prophet of God.” He insists that the marriage is sanctioned by the Bible, which is full of accounts of figures with multiple and often adolescent wives.
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Jogger Killed on Beach By Pilot Making Emergency Landing

A bizarre mishap led to a death in South Carolina when a small plane making an emergency landing killed a jogger on the beach. Robert Gary Jones, 38, was jogging and listening on his iPod when he was hit from behind. Edward I. Smith says that he had lost the propeller of his airplane and was blinded by oil on the windshield at the time of the landing.

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Obama Threatens to Veto Intelligence Oversight Reforms — House Passes Watered Down Version With Few Reforms

The Obama Administration has succeeded in watering down any reform of the intelligence oversight system — fighting to retain the same powers based on the same rationales as the Bush Administration.

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Deem and Pass: Pelosi Indicates That She May Pass Health Bill Under a Controversial Self-Executing Rule

It appears that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is contemplating the use of a “deem and pass” tactic to secure passage of the health-care bill. The procedural tactic is designed to allow members to avoid accountability for their votes and would reflect a conclusion that, in an up or down vote, the bill for fail.

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New California Assembly Speaker Gives Aide $65,000 Raise for $190,008 Salary

New Assembly Speaker John A. Perez is under attack this week after he gave his chief of staff, Sara Ramirez, an annual pay increase of nearly $65,000 for an annual salary of $190,008. That is $80,424 higher than that of Perez or Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg.

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Penny Wise and Pound Foolish: Two IRS Agents Visit Sacramento Car Wash to Demanding 4 Cents in Overdue Taxes

Aaron Zeff, the owner of Harv’s Metro Car Wash recently complained that two IRS agents came to his business and demanded payment of his over-due taxes in a rude and condescending manner. What was even more remarkable is the amount of unpaid taxes that led the IRS to send two agents in a car across town to collect: 4 cents.

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Foiled By a Fob: Alleged Car Thief Trapped in Car By Owner Using Remote Locking Button

In Florida, Travis Neeley, 19, and Peter Scandizzo, 25, were reportedly foiled by a fob in their effort to steal a car. When the owner saw Neeley in his car, he continually hit the lock button to keep him trapped as police raced to the scene.
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