Watercooler Stories

Obama not going to Chelsea wedding

WASHINGTON, July 27 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama is not going to Chelsea Clinton's wedding, the White House spokesman said.

Asked Monday, "Is he (Obama) going to the wedding?" Press Secretary Robert Gibbs answered, "No."

The super-secret wedding -- set for July 31 on the private Astor Court estate in Rhinebeck, N.Y., overlooking the Hudson River -- is limited to an estimated 400 guests, all with direct connections to Chelsea Clinton or her bridegroom, Marc Mezvinsky.

Chelsea is the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Mail found near 60-year-old plane crash

DUNDEE, Scotland, July 27 (UPI) -- A British geography student on a visit to the French Alps said she discovered a bag of mail from a November 1950 plane crash.

Freya Cowan, 22, a Student at Scotland's University of Dundee who was in the Alps researching global warming, said she found a mailbag from the Malabar Princess, an Air India Lockheed Constellation that took off from London in 1950 and crashed en route to Geneva, killing all 40 passengers and eight crew, Britain's The Daily Telegraph reported.

Cowan said the bag contained about 75 letters and birthday cards and she is now embarking along with the students who accompanied her on the expedition to return them to the senders or intended recipients.

Cowan said the letters, which had descended about 8,000 feet from the site of the crash, do not appear to have been written by the passengers on the plane and the mail was all bound for the United States.

PETA 'Lettuce Lady' arrested in Jordan

AMMAN, Jordan, July 27 (UPI) -- An animal rights activist promoting vegetarianism while wearing a lettuce dress in Jordan was arrested for demonstrating without a permit, police said.

Police in Amman said they dispersed a large crowd of people Sunday watching the "Lettuce Lady," a protester wearing a full-length dress comprised of lettuce leaves, in First Circle and placed the woman under arrest, Ammon News reported.

The woman, Amina Tareq, who held a sign reading "Let Vegetarianism Grow on You," was taken to Zahran Police Station. Officers said her unauthorized demonstration caused a large traffic jam due to the gathered crowd.

The woman was one of many "Lettuce Ladies" demonstrating in various countries on behalf of animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Police: Man tried to trade drugs for food

PALM HARBOR, Fla., July 27 (UPI) -- Authorities in Florida said a McDonald's customer who was short on cash tried to trade marijuana and prescription drugs for cheeseburgers.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said Alexander Lemke, 20, of Palm Harbor, broke into a neighbor's home at about 1:25 a.m. Friday and left with their 2005 Toyota Solara, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported.

Deputies said Lemke took the car to a nearby McDonald's drive-through, where he allegedly attempted to trade pills and marijuana for cheeseburgers.

McDonald's employees called authorities and deputies arrested Lemke at about 1:40 a.m.

Lemke, who was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, driving with a license that is suspended or revoked and eight drug-related counts, was taken to the Pinellas County Jail with bail set at $18,550.