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Judge tosses prisoners' chicken suit

BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 13 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Vermont has dismissed a lawsuit brought by three convicted prisoners who claimed they were served chicken tainted with entrails.

William Sessions III, chief judge at the U.S. District Court in Burlington, dismissed the lawsuit against ConAgra Foods Inc. Monday, saying the plaintiffs were unable to prove their allegation that the company sold tainted food that was "unreasonably dangerous" and caused physical harm, the Burlington Free Press reported Tuesday.

Christopher Butts, 52, of Dayville, Conn., claimed in the lawsuit that he bit into a piece of reheated frozen chicken while serving time at the Lee Adjustment Center in Beattyville, Ky., for driving while intoxicated with death resulting in November 2005. He said he felt a pus-like substance squirt into his mouth and saw what appeared to be a chunk of the bird's digestive tract inside the meat. He claimed to have suffered nausea, vomiting, convulsions and loss of enjoyment of chicken as a result of the incident.

Two other prisoners -- Henry "Hank" Butson, 60, who was convicted of two murders, and Corydon Cochran, 50, who was jailed for for drunken driving and other charges -- said in the suit that while they did not bite into any tainted chicken, they ate from the same batch and suffered emotional harm from coming close to consuming the chicken entrails.

Pets getting more mentions in obits

RALEIGH, N.C., Jan. 13 (UPI) -- A North Carolina newspaper said it has marked a milestone with more than a quarter of obituaries on one day mentioning pets as surviving relatives.

The Raleigh News & Observer said pets are being mentioned alongside surviving relatives so commonly that one day last week saw five obituaries -- more than a quarter of the day's total -- with mentions of animal companions, the newspaper reported Tuesday.

Deborah Bowen, a social work professor at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and author of "A Good Friend for Bad Times: Helping Others Through Grief," said mentions of pets in obituaries is part of the changing way that people in the United States view their pets. She said families are increasingly paying veterinarians $1,000 or more for medical procedures that were once strictly humans-only.

"If the pet survives you, you put the pet in the obit," Bowen said. "There is that sense of loss for animals, and there is an adjustment. Dogs will grieve the loss of another dog in the house so much that they won't eat."

Ice cream brings jobs to Mexican town

TOCUMBO, Mexico, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- A town of 1,500 people in southern Mexico has found its fortune in ice cream.

German Espinoza, the administrator in Tocumbo, told USA Today that 90 percent of the families are in the ice-cream business in some way: making ice cream, selling ice cream or distributing equipment to make ice cream. Its success has helped keep people in the state of Michoacan, because they have an alternative to joining the exodus to the United States.

"When you think of how many jobs this town has created, it's truly impressive," Espinoza said, describing Tocumbo as an "international phenomenon."

Exports of ice cream are on the rise, largely because of demand from expatriate Mexicans. The ice cream is sold under the Michoacan brand, which is free to anyone in the state with a store and the wherewithal to make ice cream.

Michoacan ice cream is known for its varied flavors, from papaya to avocado to sweet corn.

Norma Barragan, manager of a Flower of Tocumbo shop in the main plaza, said the ingredients of the avocado ice cream are simple.

"Cream, sugar and fresh avocados," she told a customer. "What, you were expecting something artificial? This is the original stuff here."

Norwegians watching Chicago buses online

CHICAGO, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- The Chicago Transit Authority said its Bus Tracker Web site has received 15,395 hits since the beginning of the year from Norwegians.

CTA technology workers said the volume of traffic originating from Norway and from cell phones and computers registered in the nation represents the largest share of visits from any country outside the United States, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.

The CTA said 75 percent of the Norwegian bus watchers remained on the site, which monitors the locations and estimated arrival times of CTA buses, for 18 minutes or more before clicking away.

"Many people just like to watch buses on their computer, even if they are not planning a trip," CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said.

However, no other foreign country came near the transport curiosity of Norway -- the country with the next highest amount of visitors to the CTA site was Canada with 3,903.