Jockstrip: The world as we know it

Ford pulls controversial Super Bowl ad

CHICAGO, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Ford Motor Co. says it will pull a 30-second Super Bowl commercial featuring a clergyman apparently lusting in his heart for a truck.

The move came after a group representing victims of clergy sex abuse registered its outrage, the Chicago Tribune said Thursday.

The ad shows the clergyman discovering the keys to a new Lincoln Mark LT truck and takes it for a spin, finding it a heavenly experience. But, he's brought back to earth when the owner shows up and says his little girl had put the keys in the collection plate by mistake.

In the final scene, the cleric is shown adjusting the church marquee to note that next week's sermon will be on "lust."

Leaders of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests contended the ad trivializes and exploits the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. Ford called the controversy "an unfortunate misunderstanding."

Robber flags down police for help

MIAMI, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- When a suspected St. Petersburg, Fla., bank robber's getaway car broke down he made a big mistake -- he flagged down an unmarked police car for help.

Arrested was Brett Elliott, 36, the St. Petersburg Times reported Thursday.

Police said Elliott held up a Bank of America Tuesday and witnesses called in the license number of his car after seeing a news report Wednesday.

"Once we had that, we went looking for him, said Sgt. Al White.

The plain-clothes officers in an unmarked car cruised through his neighborhood Wednesday when they were hailed by a motorist looking for help with his disabled car.

He was arrested without incident.

"It's usually not that easy. Most of the time they are trying to get away from us," White said.

Elliott was charged with the Bank of America robbery and a United Bank twice last month.

After his arrest, he implicated another man, Christopher Smith, who was arrested on firearms and drug charges after a brief chase.

Mom brings heroin to schoolboy son

FERNDALE, Mich., Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A suburban Detroit woman has been arrested for bringing a heroin fix to her son at school.

Sheila Black, 41, was arrested in the Ferndale High School parking lot during lunch hour Tuesday, the Royal Oak (Mich.) Daily Tribune reported.

Police said they had gotten a tip the woman was bringing her son the drugs and had sent officers to watch the lot.

"She took one of the packs of heroin and cooked it up in a spoon and drew the liquid into a syringe so he could take it into a bathroom at school and shoot it up," Detective George Hartley told the newspaper.

The youth lives with his father and there was a court order barring the mother from having contact with her son, police said.

Scottish lawmakers do PR for Macbeth

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Scottish lawmakers, irritated at what they see as William Shakespeare's insensitivity to King Macbeth, plan to observe the monarch's 1,000th birthday.

Alex Johnstone, a Tory member of Scotland's Parliament, said the bard "misportrayed" the 11th century king, the Sun reported Thursday.

Johnstone and 19 other lawmakers are considering various ways to memorialize officially the ruler's birth.

Shakespeare's play is often referred to as "the Scottish play" because it is believed by some Scots to be bad luck to mention the word Macbeth in a theater.

Historians believe the play, while largely based on historical characters, bears little resemblance to the real story of Macbeth.