UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Police: Salad orders sparked threat

BOCA RATON, Fla., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said a restaurant chef was arrested for threatening to shoot a waitress if she brought him one more order for mozzarella caprese.

Investigators said Mark DeCraepeo, chef and manager of the Pizza Time restaurant in Boca Raton, became angry Wednesday afternoon when waitress Cathy Vultaggio brought him a ticket for mozzarella caprese, a popular salad comprised of fresh mozzarella and tomatoes topped with olive oil and basil, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Monday.

DeCraepeo allegedly said if he received one more order for the salad, "I swear to God I'll shoot you in the forehead," the police report said. The chef then allegedly slammed a black handgun inside its holster on a restaurant countertop.

"Now you see I'm ... serious, I'll put a bullet right in your forehead," Vultaggio and co-worker Kristee Como quoted DeCraepeo as saying.

The women said the chef attempted to "laugh it off" moments after the incident. However, the women phoned police once their shifts ended and DeCraepeo admitted to officers that he had taken out his gun.

DeCraepeo was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon with intent to commit a felony. He was taken to the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bond.

BBC criticized for changed 'Dumpty' ending

GLASGOW, Scotland, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- A British politician is criticizing the BBC for a children's show that changed traditional nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty" to give it a happy ending.

Tom Harris, a Labor party member of Parliament representing Glasgow, Scotland, said he was shocked to see the altered rhyme on "Something Special," a program on the BBC's CBeebies kids' network he watched with his sons, ages 3 and 5, The Sun reported Monday.

Harris said the program changed the ending of the rhyme, which traditionally holds "All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again," to say the group instead "Made Humpty Dumpty happy again."

"For goodness sake. Kids should be exposed to real life a bit, not cosseted away," Harris said. "We need to stop this moronic activity. Let them see colorful and violent cartoons, and let them be children."

The politician said the program also featured a version of "Little Miss Muffet" that ended with the titular character befriending, rather than being frightened by, a spider.

A BBC spokeswoman said the changes were not meant to sanitize the nursery rhymes.

"The small change to Humpty Dumpty was for no other reason than being creative and entertaining," she said.

Vanity plate leads to $19,000 in tickets

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Authorities in Alabama said a man mistakenly received more than $19,000 in parking tickets because of his vanity license plate, which reads "XXXXXXX."

Scottie Roberson, 38, of Huntsville, Ala., said he began receiving the tickets from police in Birmingham, Ala., where he has only been once in the past five years, about a year ago and the number of citations reached as high as 10 in a single day, the Birmingham News reported Monday.

Roberson said the seven X's license plate is a reference to his old nickname, "Racer X."

However, Birmingham city officials said the license plate has a second meaning on paper, as parking patrol cars use seven X's in the place of a license number for cars parked illegally without plates.

City spokeswoman April Odom said officials are working to dismiss the fines and correct the system to prevent Roberson from receiving anymore mistaken tickets.

"Maybe we need to go with nine X's, or maybe we just need to leave that part blank altogether," Birmingham Traffic Engineer Gregory Dawkins said.

Elvis' clothes, hair sold at auction

CHICAGO, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Items sold at an Elvis Presley memorabilia auction in Chicago include shirts, dolls, photos, scarves and a lock of the King's hair, the auctioneers said.

Officials with Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago said hair clippings said to be from the haircut Elvis received upon his joining the military in 1958 sold for $15,000 at Sunday's auction, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday.

A white cotton shirt monogrammed "EP" sold for $52,000 at the auction, while a red ultra-suede shirt once worn by the singer during a photo shoot received a top bid of $28,000.

The auctioneers said the items came from the collection of Gary Pepper, an Elvis fan club president and friend of the King of Rock 'n' Roll. A birthday telegram from Presley to Pepper sold for $1,400.

Other items sold at the auction include scarves, handkerchiefs and photos from the superstar's wedding.