UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

French woman marries dead partner

DOMMARY-BARONCOURT, France, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- A French woman said she was granted a wedding to her fiance nearly a year after his death in a car collision.

Magali Jaskiewicz, 26, petitioned to be granted a posthumous wedding to Jonathan George, her partner of six years and father of her two children, after he died in a road accident two days following his Nov. 25, 2008, marriage proposal, The Guardian reported Tuesday.

Jaskiewicz stood in her wedding gown next to a picture of George during Saturday's ceremony in Dommary-Baroncourt.

"I'm not really in the mood to celebrate," she said after the ceremony. "We're going to drink a cup of coffee and I will thank those who have supported me."

French officials said dozens of posthumous weddings are approved each year.

-0-

Oxford Word of the Year: 'Unfriend'

NEW YORK, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- The publishers of the New Oxford American Dictionary said in New York that the 2009 Word of the Year, "unfriend," was inspired by Facebook.

The Oxford University Press said unfriend, a verb, is defined as: "To remove someone as a 'friend' on a social networking site such as Facebook."

Christine Lindberg, senior lexicographer for Oxford's U.S. dictionary program, said the word was chosen because of its potential to become a lasting part of the U.S. lexicon.

"It has both currency and potential longevity," Lindberg said. "In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for Word of the Year. Most 'un-' prefixed words are adjectives (unacceptable, unpleasant), and there are certainly some familiar 'un-' verbs (uncap, unpack), but 'unfriend' is different from the norm. It assumes a verb sense of 'friend' that is really not used (at least not since maybe the 17th century!). Unfriend has real lex-appeal."

-0-

Old Canadian church moving to Louisiana

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- A vacant 200-year-old Canadian church in west-central Nova Scotia is being dismantled and shipped to Louisiana to replace one lost to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The All Saints Anglican Church -- in the rural town of Granville Center -- became redundant in 2005 when three area parishes combined, Rev. Ken Vaughan told The (Halifax) Chronicle-Journal.

He said contractors had already begun deconstructing the wooden structure and in about two weeks it would be ready for shipping on trucks to Louisiana.

The report didn't say where in Louisiana the building was going, but Vaughan said it would become a Baptist church.

Because the church sits in the middle of a cemetery, the land couldn't be sold. A monument that includes the original bell will be built at the cemetery to mark the church's history.

Some local historians are upset with the move, with one saying it would have made more sense to launch a fundraiser for the Louisiana Baptists than selling them a historic church, the newspaper said.

The purchase price and moving costs weren't released.

-0-

Two arrested 1 minute after 911 call

GERMANTOWN, Tenn., Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Police in Tennessee said they arrested two men less than a minute after receiving a 911 call about a fast-food restaurant robbery.

Germantown Police said someone called the emergency number shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday to report a pair of bandanna-wearing men were robbing a McDonald's about a block from the police station and officers arrived less than a minute later to find two men sprinting toward a getaway car they had left running in the parking lot, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal reported Tuesday.

"They really didn't have time to finish the crime," Germantown Assistant Police Chief Rodney Bright said. "This is really good police work."

Memphis residents Rodney Benton Jr., 20, and Arthur Chandler, 23, were arrested and charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, resisting arrest, possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and theft of property. They were ordered held in lieu of $250,000 bond each.