UPI en Español  |   UPI Asia  |   About UPI  |   My Account
Search:
Go
Hayden Panettiere denies engagement rumors by showing her naked hand and saying, "No ring."
Actress Hayden Panettiere arrives at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards held at the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 19, 2013. UPI/Jim Ruymen 
License photo
Published: May 20, 2013 at 2:33 PM

Hayden Panettiere once again denied rumors that she's engaged to her Ukranian boxer boyfriend, Wladimir Klitschko, while walking the Billboard Music Awards red carpet on Sunday.

According to E! news when asked whether or not she's engaged the "Nashville" star held her hand up and said: "No ring."

Panettiere and Klitschko got back together in January after breaking up in 2011 following a two-year relationship. Ever since the couple reconciled there have been multiple rumors regarding their engagement.

The 23 year old actress also made use of the occasion to dismiss rumors regarding a live Nashville tour claiming there is virtually no time for the team to do live performances.

"I'm kind of confused as to when they think that's going to happen," she told E!. "We shoot from the end of July to the end of April."

(0) |
|
"Hero" cop Richard DeCoatsworth is charged with raping two women at gunpoint and assault in a separate domestic case.
Former Philadelphia "hero" police officer Richard DeCoatsworth, 27, is being held on $60 million bail for allegedly raping two women at gunpoint, forcing one into prostitution and assaulting his live-in girlfriend. (Screenshot via NBC 10 Philadelphia)
Published: May 20, 2013 at 2:21 PM
By KRISTEN BUTLER, UPI.com

Former Philadelphia police officer Richard DeCoatsworth, 27, is being held on $60 million bail after allegedly raping two women at gunpoint and assaulting another.

DeCoatsworth, was once hailed as a hero, receiving an invitation to President Obama's first congressional address in 2009, where he was seated next to First Lady Michelle Obama. DeCoatsworth had been shot in the face, but managed to chase the suspect and radio in information that lead to the man's apprehension.

DeCoatsworth allegedly met a woman at a Philadelphia bar about two weeks ago, then forced her into prostitution at a nearby Days Inn. Last week, DeCoatsworth forced that woman and a second woman, both in their 20s, to use drugs and perform oral sex on him at gunpoint, according to NBC 10 Philadelphia.

Police raided DeCoatsworth’s house and reportedly confiscated drugs and guns from the home.

According to court documents, bail was set at $25 million for each of the alleged victims. Another $10 million bail was set in a separate domestic violence case, in which police say he assaulted his live-in girlfriend on May 9.

The $60 million bail is reportedly one of the highest set in Philadelphia history. DeCoatsworth faces more than 32 charges in all three cases, including rape, sexual assault and making terroristic threats.

After the 2007 incident, he was also honored by his peers as a Top Cop in 2008. In April of 2009, DeCoatsworth was involved in a shooting when police say he was jumped and attacked by a man while dispersing a crowd. During the struggle, sources say DeCoatsworth’s gun went off and hit the suspect who ran. Another officer responding to the scene shot the suspect dead, according to sources.

In September of 2009 DeCoatsworth and another officer stopped a man on a motorcycle. When another man got on the motorcycle, the officers opened fire. Local witnesses claimed the two suspects did nothing wrong and that DeCoatsworth and the other officer acted recklessly, shooting while children were nearby.

In November of 2011, Internal Affairs investigated an alleged scuffle between DeCoatsworth and another officer. DeCoatsworth reportedly had nine citizen complaints accusing him of assault, abuse and misconduct. DeCoatsworth retired from the Philadelphia Police force on disability in December of 2011.

(0) |
|
A woman who took "revenge" on her husband by dousing him with beer after he accidentally spilled beer on her has become an Internet celebrity.
Published: May 20, 2013 at 1:48 PM

A clip of a woman pouring a beer on her husband after he accidentally dumped his on her while attempting to catch a ball at a baseball game has gone viral.

The incident took place Sunday at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL where the Chicago Cubs where playing the New York Mets.

The couple explained what happened in an interview posted by MLB.com.

"I was just trying to protect my lovely wife Ellen," said the husband. "And I accidentally spilled [her] beer on her."

The wife then jumped in and finished the sentence by saying,

"I just got livid and took my beer and splooshed it in his face. I figured if I'm wet, he might as well be wet too."

The couple admitted they found out the incident had gone viral after they started getting texts from everybody they knew.

"I didn't think they'd show me pouring the beer on him," the wife said laughing. "Sorry honey."

(0) |
|
School replaces Mother's Day and Father's Day with Family Day, and some parents are upset.
Kid's craft for Mother's Day. (CC/Sam Pullara)
Published: May 20, 2013 at 1:24 PM
By KRISTEN BUTLER, UPI.com

Astral Drive Elementary School in Nova Scotia has eliminated Mother's Day and Father's Day in favor of International Day of Families, held each year on May 15, to include non-traditional families.

But some parents are upset about the break with tradition, and say it's political correctness gone too far.

“They weren’t allowed to make a card or a craft at Mother’s Day,” Michelle Allaby told CTV News. “So, I asked my friends that go to schools in the neighbouring area, and they said yes, that their child had come home with a Mother’s Day card or craft, and it was a little upsetting to me.”

For Family Day, students were asked to write the names of all the people that supported them in their lives on a large tree hung in the gymnasium.

Other parents appreciate Family Day, which has been in place at the school for two years. “I am the head of a single-family home, and I am mother and father,” said Shirley Owen.

“Children can be isolated in a classroom if they’ve lost their mom or are in a family without a dad or in a family with two moms or two dads,” said Education Minister Ramona Jennex. She added that there is no local government policy on the celebration of Mother's Day and Father's Day.

Jennex said that individual schools understand their communities best and decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis.

(0) |
|
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco promised not to use the word "retarded" as part of an effort by the Special Olympics to have the derogatory term removed from common speech.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco called a "cold-weather" Super Bowl "retarded" at pre-game media availability in advance of Super Bowl XLVII. UPI/Kevin Dietsch 
License photo
Published: May 20, 2013 at 12:58 PM
By GABRIELLE LEVY, UPI.com

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco joins more than 400,000 people in signing on to to the "R" word pledge, promising to cut the word "retarded" out of his vocabulary.

Just a few months after taking heat for describing a cold-weather Super Bowl venue as "retarded" and "stupid,", Flacco seems to have learned his lesson.

Along with teammates Ed Dickson and Gino Gradkowski, Flacco joined with the Maryland chapter of the Special Olympics in taking the pledge:

"I pledge and support the elimination of the derogatory use of the r-word from everyday speech and promote the acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities."

Mental retardation is a term once commonly used to describe a variety of intellectual impairments, but has become more commonly used as an insult.

"When 'retard' and 'retarded' are used as synonyms for 'dumb' or 'stupid' by people without disabilities, it only reinforces painful stereotypes of people with intellectual disabilities being less valued members of humanity," the R-word pledge site explains.


(4) |
|
Bees trained to detect explosives in land mines could be more effective than bomb-sniffing dogs.
A honeybee. (CC/Erik Hooymans)
Published: May 20, 2013 at 12:41 PM
By KRISTEN BUTLER, UPI.com

Croatian officials estimate around 90,000 land mines were scattered across more than 400 square miles during the Balkan wars in the early 1990s. Even now, people are still dying from the unexploded mines.

Nikola Kezic, an expert on the behavior of honeybees, and scientists from Zagreb University have trained bees to associate the smell of trinitrotoluene, or TNT, with sugar water at specific feeding stations.

Professor Mateja Janes told the Croatian Times that "eventually they come to associate the smell of any explosives with easy food and will literally make a bee line for them." Janes added that after years of refinement and training, the bees are faster and safer than sniffer dogs.

The bees have a nearly perfect sense of smell, and can detect flowers from up to 2.8 miles away, making them more effective than dogs, with the added benefit of not being heavy enough to detonate the device.

Janes plans to take the trained honeybees on a field exercise in the southern town of Benkovac, once the front line of clashes from 1991 to 1995. The bees will be followed by heat-seeking cameras to track their movements.

"We have heard that Americans were trying to develop something similar in a secret project, but seems we've developed it before them", Janes said.

The bomb-sniffing bees form one part of a multimillion-euro program, called "Tiramisu," sponsored by the EU to detect leftover land mines on the continent.

(0) |
|
The city of Verona is currently discussing whether or not they should charge a fee for tourists who want to see the famous balcony where Romeo and Juliet are said to have fallen in love.
The Romeo and Juliet balcony in Verona. CREDIT: kingpenguin1029 via Flickr
Published: May 20, 2013 at 12:21 PM

The city of Verona in Italy is looking to charge a fee for tourists who want to see the balcony where Romeo and Juliet famously professed their love to each other.

The Telegraph reports the plan to impose a 2 euro fee to see the balcony protruding from "Juliet's house" is set to be discussed by Verona's City Council soon.

The famous balcony is located in a 14th century building known as "Juliet's House." The building reportedly belonged to the Cappello family, who allegedly served as Shakespeare's inspiration for the Capulets.

"We are hoping to hold talks with the owners of buildings that overlook the courtyard so that we can find a suitable solution for everybody," Enrico Corsi, Verona's tourism councillor said. "It needs to be in the interests of the whole city, which is known throughout the world for the legend of Juliet."

The council is also considering the idea of creating a luxury suite on the top floor of "Juliet's House." The room could go for up to 5,000 Euros a night, according to reports.

According to historians, there is little evidence supporting the theory that the balcony is actually linked to Shakespeare's fictional "Romeo and Juliet." However, the veranda has become a staple of the city and one of Verona's most visited touristic sites.

(0) |
|
Seven more horses under the care of Mahmood al-Zarooni have tested positive for steroids, bringing the total to 22.
File/UPI/Kevin Dietsch 
License photo
Published: May 20, 2013 at 12:11 PM
By GABRIELLE LEVY, UPI.com

Seven more horses trained by Mahmood al-Zarooni have tested positive for anabolic steroids, bringing the total of positive-tested animals from the stable to 22.

The British Horseracing Authority began screening all horses trained by Zarooni in April after 15 animals at his Godolphin facility tested positive for the illegal drugs. Zarooni was suspended for eight years, and all 22 horses have been suspended for six months from the date blood samples were taken.

The seven horses that tested positive in the second, more expansive round include last year's St. Leger winner Encke. Encke tested negative after his September 15th victory.

A total of 391 Godolphin-owned horses training in Newmarket were tested between April 29 and May 2. Both Godolphin and Zarooni have the option of requesting secondary analysis of the samples.

Zarooni previously lodged a complaint with the British Horseracing Authority to appeal the length of his eight-year suspension.

(1) |
|
William Fine helped shape New York's drug laws through research and conversations with Nelson Rockefeller.
Nelson Rockefeller File/UPI Photo/ David Hume Kennerly/Gerald R. Ford Library. 
License photo
Published: May 20, 2013 at 12:02 PM
By CAROLINE LEE, UPI.com

William Fine, an important influence in the creation of New York's laws on narcotics, has died, the New York Times reported.

He was 86. His daughter, Delia, said that the cause was multiple atrophy syndrome.

Fine was a prolific Hearst magazine publisher in the 1960s that managed several publications, including Cosmopolitan and Harper's Bazaar. During his time working for Hearst magazines he tried and failed to promote modest skirt lengths for women during the heyday of the miniskirt.

He ran in several powerful circles in New York and became an influence to several peers -- including Nelson Rockefeller while he was governor of New York.

Fine and Rockefeller had a conversation about narcotics while Fine's son was struggling with addiction. They compared policies to those of Japan, where Fine said the Japanese were "willing to give up the soapbox movement on human rights in order to rid the public of the evil abuses of drugs."

Rockefeller is reported to have developed his approach to drug regulation during his conversations with Fine and changed the laws to prohibit drugs rather than sink money in treatment and education programs.

The laws have since been loosened after they crowded jails without decreasing drug use, but were influential in New York and beyond and shaped views as Rockefeller considered a run for president.

(9) |
|
Mars rover Opportunity breaks 40-year-old NASA record, and is about to set the international record for off-world roving.
This image taken by the front hazard-identification camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rover's arm in its extended position. (File/UPI Photo/NASA/JPL) 
License photo
Published: May 20, 2013 at 11:56 AM
By KRISTEN BUTLER, UPI.com

Curiosity may be NASA's most popular roving robot, but last week the Mars rover Opportunity brought its total trip odometer up to 22.22 miles -- the longest distance ever traveled by a NASA vehicle on the surface of another planet.

Opportunity traversed 263 feet of Martian landscape near Endeavour Crater to break the record of 22.21 miles set during the Apollo 17 mission. In 1972, Eugene Cernan and Harrision Schmitt drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle to the NASA record.

In the coming weeks, nine-year-old Opportunity will surpass the international record for driving distance on another world held by the Soviet Union’s Lunokhod 2 robotic rover, which covered 23 miles of lunar surface in 1973. The Mars robot set off on a journey from "Cape York" where it has been working since 2011 toward a target known as “Solander Point” about 1.4 miles away.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project in addition to the Mars Science Laboratory Project and its rover, Curiosity, which landed on Mars in August 2012.

(0) |
|
Most Popular Collections
'Star Trek Into Darkness' screening NBC upfronts Met Ball 2013
'Great Gatsby' premieres in New York Spire raised on top of One WTC 2013: Celebrity break ups and divorces