Obama gets a 'lift' in Florida
FORT PIERCE, Fla., Sept. 9 (UPI) -- President Obama, on the campaign trail in Florida Sunday, was embraced and lifted off his feet by a pizza shop owner.
When Obama arrived at the Big Apple Pizza & Pasta Restaurant in Fort Pierce there were only 10 customers inside and the owner, Scott Van Duzer.
Van Duzer, 46, of Port St. Lucie, is 6-foot-3 and weighs 260 pounds, and told reporters he can press 350 pounds.
The president praised Van Duzer's muscular physique, and asked, "If I eat your pizza will I look like that?"
Van Duzer embraced the president and lifted him at least a foot off the ground.
"One of the reasons that we wanted to stop by is that Scott has been doing unbelievable work out of this pizza shop in promoting the importance of donating blood," Obama said. "And so he has set some records here in Florida. He has received commendations from the White House, the surgeon general, he has galvanized and mobilized the local community and he's educating kids and folks all across the country on this issue. So here's an example of somebody who is doing well but he's also giving back. So we just want to say how proud we are of him."
Van Duzer, a registered Republican, said he'd voted for Obama in 2008 and would do so again this year, The Washington Post reported.
The Democratic president wasn't able to win over everyone he met, however. Earlier at the Ossorio Bakery & Cafe in Cocoa, Obama approached a table of people and shook hands with Bill Terrell of Jay, Fla, who announced, "I'm a Romney supporter."
Motorcycle cop on Obama beat dies in crash
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Sept. 9 (UPI) -- A motorcycle police officer assigned to President Obama's motorcade died in a crash in Florida Sunday, White House press secretary Jay Carney said.
Carney told reporters covering the president's campaign swing through Florida that Obama had been notified the Jupiter, Fla., police officer had passed away. The West Palm Beach Post reported the officer had been identified as Bruce St. Laurent, a 20-year veteran of the department.
The newspaper said Laurent was struck about 5 p.m. by a pickup truck on an entrance ramp. The truck driver had not been identified.
Carney said the officer was part of the motorcycle escort for the presidential motorcade.
"The accident happened ahead of the motorcade itself and no other vehicle in the motorcade was involved in the accident," Carney said, adding an ambulance that was part of the motorcade was released immediately to assist at the scene.
He said the officer was transported to nearby St. Mary's Medical Center, where he died.
1 Alps shooting survivor sent home
LAKE ANNECY, France, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The 4-year-old daughter of a British couple slain in the French Alps was flown home Sunday, while her sister, 7, came out of a coma, officials said.
Four-year-old Zeena al-Hilli was the only member of her family not harmed in the Wednesday shootings that left her parents, a grandmother and an innocent bystander dead, The Guardian reported.
Saad al-Hilli, an Iraqi-born engineer, along with his wife Iqbal and his 74-year old mother-in-law were found fatally shot inside their car at Chevaline, near Lake Annecy. A biker who apparently came across the shooting was also found dead at the scene.
Zeena hid under her mother's skirt and was not found by police until eight hours after they cordoned off the crime scene.
The 4-year-old girl was flown back to Britain Sunday with two unnamed family members, the Daily Mail reported.
French prosecutor Eric Maillaud said Zeena's trip home was carried out under conditions of "utmost secrecy" for "security and safety reasons."
Meanwhile, her older sister, Zainab, came out of a medically induced coma at Grenoble Hospital, officials said.
Zainab suffered a gunshot wound to her should and a fractured skull during the incident.
She is still sedated, officials said.
2 hikers rescued in Utah mountains
WILLARD, Utah, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Two hikers, one with a dislocated shoulder and broken toe, were rescued Sunday from a Utah cliff where they had spent the night, authorities said.
The Deseret News reported Tim Myers, 30, of Sandy was hoisted off the mountain in Box Elder County and taken to a hospital. His hiking partner, Kevin Curtis, 28, of Draper, climbed up to a point where rescuers could reach him.
Myers was injured Saturday when a boulder fell from above and struck him as the pair were hiking to Inspiration Point, county Sheriff Lynn Yates said. The incident occurred at an elevation of about 8,500 feet, the Salt Lake City newspaper said.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported the two men had called dispatch at 5:30 p.m. to report their predicament but rescue crews couldn't reach them before nightfall, forcing them to spend the night on the narrow cliff, the Tribune said.
