UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Suit accuses Match.com of fraud

NEW YORK, June 10 (UPI) -- A New York man is suing dating site Match.com for causing "humiliation and disappointment" for people "who feel rejected when their e-mails get no reply."

Sean McGinn, 37, said in his federal suit against the Web site that it commits fraud by displaying profiles of people who are no longer subscribers to its $39.99-per-month service, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

McGinn said the practice leads to broken hearts when users write e-mails to the inactive profiles and never receive responses, the New York Daily News reported.

"They are left feeling they've been completely ignored and rejected," said Norah Hart, an attorney for McGinn. "For some people, it could affect their romantic future."

"Match misleads paying subscribers by charging them for the ability to write e-mails to members who can't reply to their e-mails or even read them," the lawsuit states. The complaint does not specify the damages being sought, but notes they exceed $5 million.

Match.com did not respond to a request for a comment from the Post.

Search for $1million mattress in Tel Aviv

JERUSALEM, June 10 (UPI) -- An Israeli woman says she purchased a new mattress for her mother's bed and chucked out the old one without realizing it contained $1 million.

Details of the incident were first published Wednesday in the Yedioth Aharonoth daily, and showed a photo of the woman sifting through mounds of rubbish in a dump outside Tel Aviv.

The woman told the newspaper only after the old mattress had been thrown out did her mother confront her and reveal her life savings had been stashed inside the mattress.

She immediately raced outside the house to search for the mattress, but the garbage had already been collected, she said. Refusing to give up, she searched three dump sites before arriving at the dump outside Tel Aviv.

Yitzhak Borba, the manager of the dump, told Army Radio he had beefed up security at the site and his staff was assisting the woman, so far to no avail. The task is difficult, he said, especially taking into account that 2,500 tons of garbage are dumped at the site daily.

By Wednesday afternoon the mattress had still not been found.

Police: Suspect thought car was arrested

PANAMA CITY, Fla., June 10 (UPI) -- Authorities in Florida said a man who blew .228 on a Breathalyzer told a deputy that his car "did not know what it was doing."

The Bay County Sheriff's deputy wrote in a report of the incident the man was seen driving at high speeds at about 2 a.m. Sunday and made a U-turn through a median after the deputy began pursuing, the Panama City (Fla.) News Herald reported Wednesday.

The deputy said the man, who eventually pulled over in a bank parking lot, smelled strongly of alcohol, had a 12-ounce can of Bud Light beer in his center console and had to be asked several times to turn down his music.

The report said the man admitted to having "maybe six beers" and handed the deputy a credit card instead of his driver's license. The deputy said the man failed several field sobriety tests, including the alphabet recitation, and blew a .228 on a Breathalyzer.

The deputy said the man objected to his car being towed following his arrest.

"(The suspect) advised me that the vehicle did not know what it was doing and he did not understand why it was being arrested," the deputy wrote.

The man was charged with driving under the influence.

School: Trip home for too much makeup

SEFTON, England, June 10 (UPI) -- A British school principal told parents their children could be sent home for dress code violations for wearing too much makeup or applying too much fake tan.

Peter Reed, headteacher at Maghull's Deyes High School in Sefton, England, sent a letter to parents saying certain appearance-related offenses would result in students being sent home to correct them, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday.

"In the case of makeup a minority of your daughters attempt to use excessive amounts of foundation and tanning creams; I will again send home persistent offenders to correct their appearance accordingly," he said.

Reed said students may also need to make a trip back home if they forget to bring uniform pieces, pens, gym gear, cooking supplies and science equipment.

"In the case of persistent offenders I will send students home to correct their uniform and to collect appropriate equipment," he said.

The letter also stated Reed's "pride" that "a significant number of visitors to the school are very complimentary about the behavior and the appearance of your sons and daughters."

He said the letter home was just a "seasonal reminder."