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Realistic robot models wedding gowns

OSAKA, Japan, July 24 (UPI) -- A realistic "female" humanoid robot developed by a Japanese national institute made its public debut modeling wedding gowns on an Osaka catwalk.

The HRP-4C robot, created by Kazuhito Yokoi of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, modeled wedding gowns created by fashion designer Yumi Katsura at a hotel Wednesday in Osaka, Kyodo News reported.

"I wanted to use it for fashion and entertainment," Yokoi said of his 5-foot-2 creation.

The researcher stood by in a tuxedo as the 95-pound robot took small steps down the catwalk.

''I feel happy, and at the same time lonely, just like a bride's father,'' Yokoi said.

Young love rekindled after 85 years

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., July 24 (UPI) -- A 93-year-old Illinois man says he is marrying his third-grade sweetheart after 85 years apart.

Roland "Mac" McKitrick, 93, of Arlington Heights, proposed to Lorraine Beatty, 92, of Georgia, Tuesday, about three years after they reconnected following an 85-year interruption in their friendship, the Arlington Heights Daily Herald reported.

"She was my third-grade sweetheart back in 1921," McKitrick said. "We knew each other for about one year. Then, for all practical purposes, we lost contact for 85 years."

But McKitrick said both he and Beatty had brothers living in Connecticut who became friends, and the two reunited through their brothers.

"I still picture her as my third-grade sweetheart. I've carried that in the back of my mind since that time," McKitrick said.

He said he still has a photograph of himself with Beatty taken when they were children.

"That snapshot stayed in my memory," he said, "and her face stayed in my memory."

Brothers reunite after seven decades

SPOKANE, Wash., July 24 (UPI) -- A 70-year-old man in Spokane, Wash., says he was thrilled to see his brother for the first time since they were separated at an Idaho orphanage 70 years ago.

Spokane resident John Mellinger Jr. said while he knew he had a brother somewhere in the world for nearly 30 years, finally seeing 71-year-old Dan Newburn in person Wednesday was a unique thrill, The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash., reported.

"I'm excited, but I don't think it's really sunk in yet," Mellinger said.

Newburn, who lives in Nevada, said meeting his long-lost brother has brought a new welcome feeling to his life.

"All of a sudden, I had a sense of being connected like I never had before," Newburn told the Spokesman-Review. "I found a kinship."

The brothers, whose teenage mother had placed them in the Children's Home Society in Idaho, were separated in 1939 when they were adopted by different families.

Newburn began looking for his brother two weeks ago, motivated by curiosity about his medical history. After learning Mellinger's identity, he found his brother on the social networking site Facebook and contacted him.

Pickens admits taking driveway slab

HOLDENVILLE, Okla., July 24 (UPI) -- Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens said he took a slab of driveway concrete bearing his signature from an Oklahoma home for sentimental reasons.

Pickens, 81, admitted taking the concrete June 18 from a Holdenville home that once belonged to his grandmother after the homeowner, David McCart, reported the slab had been taken from his driveway, The Oklahoman reported.

"I was sad, and felt a desire to protect what cherished memories I could, most notably the cement that I etched my name into the sidewalk as a youth," Pickens said in a statement. "The crew leading the repairs at the cemetery offered to cut it out, and I authorized the removal. (The hole was immediately filled and repaired, not weeks later as has been suggested and reported). I knew it was city property and, in hindsight, regret that I did not work with the appropriate city officials to seek their permission."

McCart said he is still seeking to have the oil tycoon prosecuted and the slab returned to his driveway.

"I don't feel a need to defend myself against his actions because what he had done is wrong," McCart said. "This would not have mattered if it was an empty lot. He still had no right to take property that did not belong to him."