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Rabbi with six daughters gets a son

BOCA RATON, Fla., Oct. 23 (UPI) -- A Florida rabbi said he was overjoyed by the birth of his son after previously having six daughters with his wife.

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg of Boca Raton Synagogue said he and his wife Yocheved had a stillborn son 11 years ago and had since had only daughters until the recent birth of Shmuel Yisroel Nosson Goldberg, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Tuesday.

The rabbi said congregants shared his family's joy so much that more than 500 people attended the newborn's circumcision Monday. Goldberg said he learned several of the congregation members had been taking wagers on the baby's gender.

"I lost $50 because you had a boy," one congregant texted him after the birth.

Congregants said the birth of the boy was a source of joy for the entire community.

"This is a community baby," Linda Levy said. "It's a sign of hope for the world. Every day, the news is bad, with the elections, Israel, Iran. This was a source of light."

Pub owner uses broom to fight off robbers

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Police in St. Louis say a pub owner scared off armed robbers by swatting at them with a broom.

St. Louis police said the husband and wife owners of O'Malley's Irish pub called 911 about 2 a.m. Tuesday and reported two or three men had approached the husband while he was sweeping the sidewalk after closing the pub and brandished a firearm, KSDK-TV, St. Louis, reported.

The man said he struck the robbers repeatedly with the broom and they fired several shots while fleeing. No one was struck by the shots.

Police said they were searching for the suspects.

Couple enter strangers' apartment for sex

LONDON, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- The British residents of an apartment where a pair of strangers were caught having sex posted pictures and videos of the incident online.

Chris Sawyer, 27, said he heard the couple enter his London apartment through a door that had been left open by a neighbor in the early hours Saturday and the pair went into the bedroom of his roommate, Sean Thorne, 24, who was not home, and had sex, The Sun reported Tuesday.

Sawyer said he called Thorne before taking pictures of the incident and posting updates about the rendezvous on Twitter. He said he took video of the embarrassed couple exiting Thorne's room.

Thorne said he has thrown away his bed sheets. He said the couple did not take all of their belongings when they left.

"I've got his red trousers as he took mine by mistake. I think it's quite funny now," he said.

The roommates said the girl, who had been attending a party at a neighbor's apartment prior to the incident, sent some friends to the apartment later to collect her hot pants and other items.

Russian seeks help from Virgin Mary

NEW YORK, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- A Russian man awaiting trial on money-laundering charges said he has hired a pilot to fly a banner along the New York skyline seeking help from the Virgin Mary.

Vadim Vasilenko, whose U.S. court date has not been set, has already sent up banners seeking help from both President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti reported Tuesday.

Vasilenko said he hired a light aircraft to fly a banner reading "Romney, help!" over Manhattan and Brighton Beach for an hour on Monday. He did the same last week for Obama.

He said he would take his appeal to the Virgin Mary next.

Vasilenko has been jailed since his arrest five years ago on charges of laundering $47 million.

He told RIA Novosti he is prepared to admit partial guilt in exchange for time served and deportation to Russia.