Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe TAKE A SAD SONG... A London judge has ruled in favor of Paul McCartney, blocking the auction of handwritten lyrics to "Hey Jude." Advertisement The former Beatle said the lyrics had disappeared from his home, NME.com reports. The lyrics were to be sold at a pop memorabilia auction at Christie's in London Wednesday. The lyric sheet will now stay at Christie's headquarters until ownership is established by trial or agreement. The lyrics belonged to F;prrent Tessier, who bought them when he was a student in 1971 or 1972. He said he didn't realise the lyrics were authentic until he had them appraised by Sotheby's six years ago. Christie's had proposed that McCartney bid for the lyrics himself. The judge called that a "highly unattractive proposal." He added that he hopes the case could be resolved without coming to court. CAR THEFTS Advertisement Congratulations, Phoenix! You're the car theft capital of the nation, according to a new study by the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The study found vehicle theft on the rise for the first time in a decade with the top 10 cities for such crimes all within easy reach of ports, or the Canadian or Mexican borders. FBI statistics show auto theft increased 1.2 percent from 1999 to 2000, with nearly 1.2 million vehicles stolen nationwide. More than 30 percent of stolen vehicles never are recovered and NICB estimates 200,000 vehicles are illegally exported annually. The bureau analyzed 2001 vehicle theft rates in 330 metropolitan areas and the FBI data. Rounding out the top 10 were Miami; Fresno, Calif.; Detroit; Sacramento, Calif.; Tucson, Ariz.; Tacoma, Wash.; Stockton, Calif.; Seattle and Jersey City, N.J. In 2001, Phoenix reported 1,081.25 vehicle thefts per 100,000 population while State College, Pa., the community reporting the lowest theft rate, had just 44.20 per 100,000. New York ranked 119th, with just 372.33 thefts per 100,000 population, while Los Angeles ranked 23rd with a rate of 71.38 and Chicago, 51st, with 543.01. REASONS TO CELEBRATE TODAY: WEDNESDAY: Today being May 1, this marks the beginning of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Better Hearing and Speech Month, Breathe Easy Month, Clean Air Month, Creative Beginnings Month, Family Support Month, Fibromyalgia Education and Awareness Month, Freedom Shrine Month, Get Caught Reading Month, Haitian Heritage Month, Huntington's Disease Awareness Month, International Business Image Improvement Month, Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month, More Than Just A Pretty Face Month, National Allergy/Asthma Awareness Month, National Arthritis Month, National Barbecue Month, National Bike Month, National Book Month, National Correct Posture Month, National Egg Month, National Good Car-Keeping Month, National Hamburger Month, National Hepatitis Awareness Month, National Mental Health Month, National Moving Month, National Neurofibromatosis Month, National Osteoporosis Prevention Month, National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, National Prom Graduation Safety Month, National Salsa Month, National Scholarship Month, National Sight-Saving Month, National Stroke Awareness Month, National Teaching and Joy Month, National Tuberous Sclerosis Awareness Month, Older Americans Month, Personal History Awareness Month, Revise Your Work Schedule Month, Senior Citizens Month, Sight-Saving Ultraviolet Awareness Month, Strike Out Strokes Month and Women's Health Care Month. Advertisement National Connecting Week is May 1-7. So is National Peace Of Mind Month. May Day, a celebration of the planting season, is today. This is Labor Day in some 140 countries around the world. Today is National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day. (Web site: freedomfromfear.org) It's also Connecticut Teen Month. Executive Coaching Day, Law Day, Loyalty Day, Mother Goose Day, New Homeowner's Day, Rhino Day and School Principals' Day. And this is Constitution Day in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. (Thanks to Chase's 2002 Calendar of Events) BY THE WAY... How long have frequent flier programs been around? 21 years. It was on this date in 1981 that American Airlines began offering the industry's first frequent fliers miles program.
