Watercooler Stories

Suit alleging sperm theft reinstated

CHICAGO, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- An appeals court has reinstated a suit against a Chicago area doctor accused of secretly stealing her lover's sperm to inseminate herself.

An Illinois appellate court held Dr. Sharon Irons of Olympia Fields can be held liable for inflicting emotional damage on the unwitting father of her child, the Chicago Daily Southtown said.

The ruling reinstated part of a lawsuit brought by Chicago physician Richard Phillips, accusing Irons of perpetrating a "calculated, profound personal betrayal" of Phillips after a brief tryst they had six years ago.

The pair allegedly never had sexual intercourse during the four-month affair, but did engage in oral sex three times. The lawsuit claimed that after one of those encounters, Irons kept some of Phillips' semen without his knowledge and later used it to impregnate herself.

School cook quits over principal foods

PLYMOUTH, England, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A primary school cook in southern England has resigned rather than follow board guidelines for serving processed food, The Mirror reported Thursday.

Kate Steggles, 40, only worked for six months preparing lunches for children at the Newton Ferrers Primary School near Plymouth before throwing up her hands and quitting.

"I resigned because morally I could not serve the food the children were technically meant to be having because it broke my heart," she said. "The food doesn't have to be organic, it just has to be real."

During her employment, Steggles replaced powdered milk with fresh milk she acquired locally and cheaply and also replaced powdered potatoes with locally grown real ones. The newspaper said the children appeared to love her whole grain pasta, fresh fruit salad and pancakes with oat and apple crumbles.

Meanwhile, a Devon county council spokesman told the newspaper a review of the quality of school meals was under way.

Ohio Supreme Court judge loses $18,000

CLEVELAND, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- An Ohio Supreme Court justice lost $18,000 in cash when his state-owened vehicle was broken into in Cleveland.

Justice Terrance O'Donnell told police he had recently withdrawn the money from a savings account. It was unknown why he had left it in his vehicle. A number of personal items were also taken, WEWS-TV, Cleveland, reported.

Police said they were also investigating the theft from a car owned by the FBI in the same area last week.

PETA protests use of penguins at party

MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Feb. 24 (UPI) -- An animal rights group is objecting to the use of penguins at a party marking the opening of a South Beach hotel in Miami Beach, Fla.

Many of those in attendance weren't so sure about it either, The Miami Herald reported Thursday.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals lambasted the Hotel Victor in the New York Post's Page Six Wednesday. PETA specifically targeted celebrity host Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.

"I don't think people have to be an animal activist to see that it's wrong to keep penguins in the middle of the party," said PETA's Jennifer Fox.

Combs did not order the penguins and might not have even seen them. They were arranged by Barton Weiss, also known as Barton G.

He rented the penguins from Birds and Animals, an animal training company in Irvine, Calif.

Lorraine Putnam of Birds and Animals said the penguins were of a breed that thrives in temperatures of 40 to 70 degrees and are bred and trained to be "celebrity movie penguins," accustomed to lights and loud music.