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'American only' Costco FB page shut down

BELLINGHAM, Wash., Aug. 19 (UPI) -- A Facebook page calling for "American only" hours at a Washington state Costco frequented by Canadians was shut down after receiving "negative" comments.

The Facebook page, titled "Bellingham Costco needs a special time just for Americans," had 4,600 likes, but was shut down after people posted heated comments on the page, the Seattle Post Intelligencer reported Thursday.

On the page, Americans complained about how Canadians took up too many parking spaces at the Bellingham Costco, which is near the Canadian border.

In response, Canadians lamented about xenophobic, narrow-minded Americans.

Most of the page's content has been removed and an administrator informed users, "I am shutting [the page] down primarily because of the ignorant press/canadian/american negative connotations it has received," on Wednesday.

Hometown fisherman lands $50,000 salmon

SEWARD, Alaska, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- A hometown angler caught a $50,000-tagged salmon in the Seward, Alaska, Silver Salmon Derby.

Michael Rogers, 64, landed one of a handful of tagged fish Saturday, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

"I've been fishing this derby since it started pretty much, since I was a little kid. I've won quite a few prizes, but this is the first major one," Rogers told the Daily News in a telephone interview.

Rogers said things weren't going his way at first, but then he changed things up and started catching salmon.

When he returned to derby headquarters, Rogers said he was told one fish could be worth anywhere from $100 to $50,000.

"I had to sit in the derby office for a while and fill out paperwork, and finally they handed me an envelope," Rogers said. "All the women in there sat around me with and had pictures taken with me and then they said, 'OK, you can open it now.' And there was another envelope inside that one. So then I opened that one up and it says $50,000. It was quite a shock."

The Daily News said it was the second time in the derby's 57-year history that a $50,000 tagged fish was caught. The first one was caused in 2003.

Limbless swimmer completes feat

DIOMEDE, Alaska, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Frenchman Philippe Croizon, a quadruple amputee, successfully swam across the Bering Strait from the United States to Russia.

Croizon, 44, took about 1 hour, 20 minutes Friday to make it the approximately 2.5 miles from Little Diomede Island in Alaska to Big Diomede in Russia, Radio France Internationale reported.

He was accompanied by long-distance swimmer Arnaud Chassery, 35.

Their swim between America and Asia was their fourth between continents in the past three months, RFI said. They also swam from Papua New Guinea to Indonesia (Oceania to Asia), across the Red Sea from Egypt to Jordan (Africa to Asia) and from Spain to Morocco (Europe to Africa).

Croizon's arms and legs were amputated in 1994 after he was jolted by 20,000 volts while removing a TV antenna from a roof. He uses flippers attached to prosthetic limbs while swimming.

He said his swimming can be an inspiration to other disabled people.

"I tell them: 'Everything is possible, everything can be done when you have the will to go beyond yourself,'" he said. "We're all equal, disabled and non-disabled people on all continents."

Tons of beer spilled in N.C. crash

GASTONIA, N.C., Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Cases of imported beer weighing about 21 tons spilled out onto a North Carolina interstate when a tractor-trailer truck collided with a car, authorities said.

The crash occurred on Interstate 85 north in Gastonia about 5 p.m. Friday and snarled traffic for hours, WCNC-TV, Charlotte, reported.

WSOC-TV, Charlotte, reported the shipping company said the entire shipment of beer would go to the dump

Police said the accident happened when a car spun out during a rain storm and was hit by the truck.

"It's a miracle nobody was injured, only scrapes and bruises," J.R. Smith of the Gaston County police said.

Truck driver Jessie Cabiness, who just turned 40 the day before, told WSOC-TV the crash "really just scared the daylight out of me."

Police said the car driver was cited for driving unsafe for the conditions.