UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Perfume levels an issue for Minn. schools

MINNEAPOLIS, March 11 (UPI) -- A Minnesota lawmaker is proposing an educational program in the state's schools that would urge teenagers to go easy on the perfume and cologne.

The measure is being proposed for the sake of chemically sensitive individuals who can have bad reactions to strong scents, particularly since children oftentimes lay them on too heavily.

"It's a voluntary opportunity for schools to do an educational campaign on why they might want to limit and phase out fragrances in the schools," State Rep. Karen Clark, D-Minneapolis, told the Star Tribune newspaper.

Clark said she proposed the program after being approached by students and administrators from a Minneapolis school. It would be based on educational materials and letters to parents urging them to monitor how their children smell as they head off to school.

Man sues after slip on grape

LONDON, March 11 (UPI) -- A man who fell after stepping on a grape outside a London grocery claims in a lawsuit against the store that his injuries harmed his work.

Alexander Martin-Sklan claims in his suit that the injury he incurred -- a tear in his thigh tendon -- outside the Marks & Spencer store left him in a "deep depression" with "adverse psychological effects" and a "loss in confidence" that heavily affected his accounting business, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

Martin-Sklan said the June 18, 2004, incident has also left him unable to play sports or go on skiing trips, activities he previously enjoyed. He is seeking more than $600,000 in damages.

The store has denied any negligence in the incident.

N. Ireland judge tosses pizza review award

BELFAST, Northern Ireland, March 11 (UPI) -- A court in Northern Ireland overturned an award to a Belfast pizza restaurant that had been socked by a bad review from a major newspaper.

Lord Chief Justice Brian Kerr ruled that the jury that awarded the owners of pizzeria Goodfellas $50,146 had been acting on incorrect instructions from the trial judge.

The owners of Goodfellas sued The Irish News over a 2000 review that blasted not only the food at the Belfast restaurant but the staff and the atmosphere as well. The jury agreed that the critique amounted to defamation.

But The Irish News said Tuesday that Kerr ruled it would be "ludicrous" to allow libel suits every time a newspaper filed a negative review. However, Kerr also ruled that the question of malice hadn't been settled and left the door open for Goodfellas to pursue the case.

Firefighter gives CPR to pet dog

WEST MONROE, La., March 11 (UPI) -- Dogs may be man's best friend, but a firefighter in Louisiana went beyond that to life-saver, performing CPR on a pooch rescued from a fire.

Ouachita Parish, La., firefighter Stephen "Odie" Odom moved through a burning mobile home in West Monroe to locate two pet dogs in carriers trapped inside, The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La., reported. Once outside and in the fresh air, Odom noticed one dog was not breathing and his tongue was hanging out.

The firefighter removed his face mask and placed the dog's head inside so the oxygen could blow in its face.

It didn't work. Odom began performing CPR.

"I began doing CPR on the dog by cupping my hands around the dog's snout and blowing until I could feel his chest expand," Odom said. "I then did chest compressions similar to that of infant CPR. After approximately one minute of doggie CPR, I noticed the dog trying to breathe on its own."

Odom returned to the fire station, leaving an oxygen tank with the dog's owners -- just in case.