Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe THINGS WE DON'T UNDERSTAND The man the British call Dr. Death, doing life for killing patients, has been caring for elderly patients in the hospital wing of his top security prison, the London Daily Mirror reports. Advertisement Harold Shipman, 56 has wheeled the sick from room to room, helped them to their beds, and even been involved in collecting their meals, the paper reports. The relatives of his victims are outraged and accused prison officials of failing to protect other inmates. Shipman was found guilty of killing 15 women, aged 49 to 81, by morphine injection but officials say his victim count could total more than 215. NEWS OF OTHER LIFE FORMS An arthritic German shepherd was being beaten with pipes by angry men in Iraq last month when 33-year-old Special Forces soldier, Sgt. William Gillette, intervened while on patrol. The Detroit Free Press reports after another battle with red tape and protocol the dog, Yo-Ge, now spends his days playing in a Bloomfield Hills, Mich., yard, getting free care from a veterinarian who was touched by the story. Gillette says he handcuffed the men and gave the dog to friend Chris Cornelius, whose parents made a home for Yo-Ge until Gillette, who lives in Tennessee, returns from duty. Advertisement How Gillette got Yo-Ge on a New York-bound airplane is unclear -- but it involved a Special Forces medic who treated the animal's injuries and the cooperation of the U.S. Embassy in Jordan, the paper writes. TODAY'S SIGN THE WORLD IS ENDING Bill Gates, the world's richest man, and Tom Brokaw, who makes millions each year at NBC, stiffed a restaurant in tiny Watertown, S.D. -- walking out without paying the bill for two $3 cappuccinos, the Washington Post reports. They even neglected to tip the waitress of the Past Times Cafe in Watertown -- population 20,000 hard working Prairie folks. It gets worse -- Brokaw is a South Dakota native. Gates and Brokaw were in town to tape an interview for "NBC Nightly News" about the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's $250 million gift of computers to rural America. Brokaw, thinking about it later, realized his problem but Past Times owner Corinne Arnold told the Post all was OK, that the drinks were on the house. The Gates entourage says the tip is in the mail and Brokaw has sent $40 to make his own amends. Advertisement AND FINALLY, TODAY'S UPLIFTING STORY Despite the war in Iraq and a continued sluggish economy millions of Americans still plan to travel this Memorial Day weekend, say AAA auto clubs. AAA estimates 35 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the three-day weekend, up 0.1 percent from last year. "Given conditions just two months ago with the U.S. at war, record-high gasoline prices and dismal consumer confidence, AAA is encouraged to see holiday travel return to 2002 levels," said AAA Travel Vice President Sandra Hughes. Nearly 30 million Americans will brave higher gas prices and drive to their Memorial Day destinations, while almost 4 million will fly, down 2.5 percent from 2002.
