MOLALLA, Ore., May 14 (UPI) -- An Oregon middle-school student has challenged her principal's no-hugging rule.

The Molalla River Middle School adopted the policy last year, the Molalla Pioneer reported. Principal Bob Espenel said students were spending too much time hugging between classes, impeding traffic in the school hallways.

"You'd have groups of 10 to 15 kids and they all had to hug each other

before they went to class," Espenel said. "It was getting out of hand. This is not the Love Boat."

But 7th-grader Desha Eaves thinks hugs are sometimes necessary.

"Sometimes they really need a hug and I didn't think it was fair for me to not give my friend a hug," she said.

She decided to make a formal protest, getting in touch with Espenel and writing the school board. The board decided the issue could be decided at school level, suggesting that Eaves and Espenel talk about the rule.

Espenel said he is not sure Eaves will change his mind. But he appreciates her for trying to work within the system.

'Gas can' turns out to hold orange juice

MELBOURNE, Fla., May 14 (UPI) -- Police in Melbourne, Fla., went after a man seen heading into the woods Tuesday with a gas can that proved to hold only orange juice.

A passerby reported the sighting and told police the man was carrying a 5-gallon can of gas, Florida Today reported. Police went looking for the man, found him and discovered the container's contents were not combustible.

Police in the area are nervous about brush fires and the possibility of arson. At least nine were burning in Palm Bay, just southwest of Melbourne. Investigators believe they were deliberately set.

Australian safety official loses license

SYDNEY, May 13 (UPI) -- The minister in charge of road safety in the Australian state of New South Wales announced Tuesday his license is about to be suspended for speeding.

John Della Bosca, the state education minister, told reporters he did not try to bury the news by making the announcement on the same day as the release of the federal budget, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. He admitted he is a serial offender who was put over the limit for revocation in late April when he was clocked coming out of a tunnel at more than 10 mph over the posted limit.

He acknowledged he only told the Roads and Traffic Authority on Tuesday that he was the driver of the offending car. Della Bosca is also industrial relations minister, which puts him in charge of the motor accidents authority.

Barry O'Farrell, the Opposition Leader in New South Wales, lampooned Della Bosca at a news conference Tuesday by raising his pinky finger in front of reporters. The gesture is used in a road safety commercial to suggest that men who violate traffic rules are not well endowed.

News anchor apologizes for saying F-word

NEW YORK, May 13 (UPI) -- Seasoned WNBC-TV New York news anchor Sue Simmons issued a public apology for saying the F-word while reporting on a story about food prices.

Simmons, who has 28 years of experience working for WNBC-TV, let the expletive fly after she seemed to get angry while shooting a promotion Monday night, the New York Post reported Tuesday.

"What the f - - - are you doing?" Simmons yelled out while she was off camera but still on the air.

"I'm truly sorry. It was a mistake on my part, and I sincerely apologize," she said in an on-air apology about 30 minutes after the slip-up.

A WNBC spokeswoman said she could not explain what prompted Simmons to yell out the swear word.