Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Merkel unfazed by beer down the back MECKLENBURG, Germany, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- The waiter who dropped five glasses of beer on German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the leader handled the situation with good humor. Advertisement The waiter, identified as Martin D., 21, told the Bild newspaper he was bringing the beer to Merkel's table at the Demmin Christian Democratic Union meeting in Mecklenburg last Wednesday because a female coworker was too nervous to serve the head of state's table, The Local reported Tuesday. "I was shoved from behind, and tried to catch the beers, but it was too late. I shouted (expletive) really loudly," he said. The waiter said Merkel kept her cool and didn't scold him for the spill or his foul language. "She turned around, grinned at me -- and even though she was wet, went to the speaker's stage shortly afterwards," he said. Advertisement Video of the beer being dumped down the chancellor's back has become popular on YouTube, with one posting accumulating nearly 600,000 views as of Tuesday. 'Hitman' Web site creator in U.S. prison LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- The Las Vegas man who created HitmanForHire.net, a Web site promising professional killers "at a moment's notice," is now in a federal prison in Mississippi. Essam Ahmed Eid, 56, who was convicted in both Ireland and the United States of crimes related to his online business, is eligible for release as early as November 2013 after he was sentenced in Los Angeles to a 33-month jail sentence on a conspiracy relating to extortion charge, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. Authorities said Eid, who was born in Egypt, approached a woman in Los Angeles in 2006 and told her someone had offered him $37,000 to have her killed. However, he said he only received a $17,000 deposit and would spare the woman's life if she paid the outstanding balance on the contract. The woman sought assistance from the FBI, but investigators said Eid left the country for Ireland during their investigation. Authorities in Ireland arrested Eid after he approached a man and said he had been offered $174,876 to kill him, his brother and their father. He offered to spare their lives for $134,520. Advertisement Eid was convicted of extortion and burglary in Dublin and sentenced to six years in prison. He was extradited to Los Angeles to face trial last year. Authorities said Eid's scheme for the Web site, which is how he was contacted by the people seeking to have their acquaintances killed, went beyond extortion, as he had researched a method for silencing a pistol and even made poisonous ricin powder in his garage. Sub shop makes 1,470-calorie sandwich MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis., Feb. 28 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin sandwich chain said its new Big Daddy sandwich includes salami, bologna, pepperoni, two types of ham and three types of cheese. Cousins Subs of Menomonee Falls said the sandwich has 1,470 calories, the equivalent of three McDonald's Quarter Pounders with Cheese or more than six Johnsonville Stadium Brats, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday. "What we've been hearing from our guests for a couple of years is that they're really looking for hearty sandwiches and premium quality and the best ingredients, and that's what we set out to do with the menu as a whole," marketing director Justin McCoy said. "The Big Daddy happened to be a part of that." Jim White, a registered dietitian and a spokesman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, said it would take about five hours to walk off the calories from a Big Daddy. Advertisement "This could set someone back days if not even a week," he said. Dog rescued from cistern beneath house WAYNESBURG, Pa., Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Animal rescuers said a dog rescued from an unused cistern beneath a Pennsylvania home is believed to have been trapped for four days. The Waynesburg Borough Police Department said residents of Lincoln Street thought the barking they had been hearing was coming from a neighbor's house until a man realized it was coming from beneath the porch of a home Monday and phoned the Greene County Humane Society, The (Washington, Pa.) Observer-Reporter reported Tuesday. Jane Gapen, director of the humane society, said she assessed the situation and called police to help with the rescue. Gapen and Officer Rob Toth were able to attach two leashes to the dog's ribs and rear end to lift her to safety. "She is a beagle mix, so she might have been chasing a squirrel or a rabbit when she went under there," Gapen said. "We were also having a lot of wind this weekend, and she may have gone under there to get out of the wind." Police said the owner of the home was unaware of the cistern's existence and pledged to secure the hole to make sure no more animals fall into it. Advertisement Gapen said the dog's tags identified her as Shelby, a 2-year-old beagle mix. She said officials are attempting to reach the canine's owner.
