UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Palin spares 1 turkey, others not so lucky

WASILLA, Alaska, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin saved one turkey from becoming Thanksgiving dinner but that goodwill didn't extend to others in the flock.

Palin, the Republican Party vice presidential candidate, issued the traditional pardon for a bird named Thanksgiving at the Triple D Farms in Wasilla, New York's Daily News reported Friday.

However, while Palin was on camera for an interview, a man working on the farm could be seen leading another bird to slaughter in the background.

Palin declined an offer to move to a different location, the Daily News said, adding she may have been unaware of the grisly activity behind her was being captured on film.

Cherry picker an effective speed trap

RIO RANCHO, N.M., Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Police in Rio Rancho, N.M., say a number of speeding citations have been handed out to area drivers thanks to an officer's cherry picker hiding spot.

The Albuquerque Journal said Friday that a police officer armed with a radar gun used the inventive hiding spot to clock scores of speeding drivers and send reinforcements after the offending travelers.

Police spokesman John Francis said 84 citations were handed out Thursday during a 4 1/2-hour selective Traffic Enforcement Program operation.

Francis told the Journal the majority of the citations were for driving above the posted speed limit but some were for expired registrations or overly tinted windows.

Drivers who attempted to warn approaching travelers of the officer's hidden perch were also cited for their actions, Francis added.

The Journal said the fine for speeding in Rio Rancho, no matter how a violator is caught, ranges from $88 to $263 based on how many miles an hour over the posted limit the driver was moving at the time.

Two-faced kitten born in Australia

PERTH, Australia, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- A kitten with two faces, each of which can issue a feline meow, has been born in the Australian city of Perth, a nurse says.

Nurse Louisa Burgess said the 12 years she has spent taking care of animals, she has never seen anything like the two-faced kitten that was born during a recent surgery, the Melbourne Herald-Sun said in its Thursday edition.

"I have seen cats with two tails and extra legs, but not this," Burgess said.

"It has a full tummy and it survived the night so that is a good sign. It seems content, it meows and purrs."

The Sydney Morning Herald said the feline's mother was forced to undergo surgery to deliver three kittens after the animal suffered labor complications.

But the mother cat was able to successfully deliver three kittens, only one of which had the remarkable physical deformity.

The newspaper said the kitten with two faces is able to meow out of each of its mouths, but a cleft palate prevents it from eating from both of its faces.

Inmates miss out on prison comedy class

CAMBRIDGE, England, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Inmates of a prison in the British county of Cambridgeshire lost out on a stand-up comedy course due to the inappropriateness of the class, officials say.

British Justice Secretary Jack Straw said he and prison officials decided to cancel the comedy course at Her Majesty's Prison Whitemoor since it didn't represent an acceptable form of education for inmates, The Times of London said Friday.

"As soon as I heard about the course at HMP Whitemoor, I instructed that it must be immediately canceled," Straw said. "It is totally unacceptable. Senior managers in the prison service, who were also unaware of the course, take the same view as me."

Among the 18 inmates that had signed up for the eight-day Comedy School of London course was convicted al-Qaida bomber Zia Ul Haq.

The Daily Mail said Ul Haq, who was convicted of planning London bomb attacks, would ultimately have been part of a prison stand-up comedy show along with his fellow course graduates if the class had gone on as planned.