Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Madoff Mets tickets fetch $7,500 NEW YORK, April 13 (UPI) -- Two opening-day Mets tickets, part of a season-ticket package owned by investor Bernard Madoff's company, fetched $7,500 in an online auction Sunday, eBay said. Advertisement The price spiked in the final minutes of the auction, CNN reported. The final price for the tickets almost doubled from $3,800 two hours prior to the auction's close. There was a bidding war between two parties, the news network said. The eBay listing for the tickets to Monday's game said the face value for each ticket was $500. The trustee tasked with liquidating Madoff's assets filed a motion with a New York bankruptcy court Tuesday to sell the tickets as part of his liquidation, aimed at retuning money to deceived investors. The motion values at $60,750 two season tickets, which are located in the Delta Club Gold section of Citi Field, the Mets new ballpark. Advertisement Recession hits New York brides NEW YORK, April 13 (UPI) -- Brides in New York appear to be among the victims of the recession, with retailers saying more grooms are buying cubic zirconia rings instead of diamonds. New York Diamond District retailers said an increasing number of would-be husbands are purchasing the fake diamonds for their brides' engagement rings to save money during the economic downturn, the New York Post reported. "There are people who will buy a setting and put a CZ in it for now, hoping to replace it later," private jeweler Shella Eckhouse said of the recent trend. Luxury jeweler Kara Ackerman said some of those grooms not purchasing cubic zirconia settings are instead turning to one-carat diamond rings instead of the more traditional and expensive two-carat rings. "The budget used to be $65,000," she said. "Now it's closer to $10,000." Ackerman said not all brides appear to be happy with the cost-cutting measures of their potential spouses. "The women are little hostile about it," Ackerman told the Post. "They have been waiting a long time for a ring!" British town finds will of Obama kin STAPLEFORD, England, April 13 (UPI) -- A British ancestor of U.S. President Barack Obama left his son the equivalent of $11.44, says a will found in the town of Stapleford, England. Advertisement Peter Blossom, a farm laborer genealogists say is related to Obama, left the money to his son, Thomas, and gave the rest of his material goods to his wife Anable, who he called "a good wench as any could be," The Daily Telegraph reported. "I don't think leaving him 12 pence -- which is ($11.44) in present day value -- was a snub. He gave what he could," said Alan Bullwinkle, 88, a resident of Stapleford who found the will in his local records office after hearing Obama was related to Peter Blossom. Genealogists believe Thomas Blossom, born in nearby Great Shelford about 1580, sailed to the United States about 1620. Organizers of the July 12 Shelford Feast have invited Obama to attend, saying it is likely Thomas Blossom took part in the feast, which dates to medieval times. It was not known if Obama planned to be at this year's event. Zoo keepers pull woman away from bears BERLIN, April 13 (UPI) -- A woman who climbed a fence, hedges and a wall to get into the polar bear enclosure at the Berlin Zoo was pulled out of the moat by keepers. The woman was bitten on the legs and arms, The Daily Telegraph reported. Keepers used ropes to pull her up a wall. Advertisement "The woman has proved herself to be careless by jumping into the enclosure," a police spokesman said. "Logic tells us that polar bears will do this type of thing in this situation." There were four bears in the enclosure at the time -- including Knut, the 2-year-old celebrity that was born in the zoo and reared by a keeper when its mother refused to care for it. Police have said nothing about the woman's reasons for her rash act. She had to climb a series of barriers to get into the danger zone. In December, keepers used chunks of raw meat to divert the bears after a man climbed in. He later said he was lonely.
