Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe PROGRAM RESULTS IN MORE TEEN PREGNANCY A pilot program in Scotland provides free condoms, the morning-after pill and free tests for sexually transmitted diseases to students as young as 13. Advertisement The program is designed to help curb rising teen pregnancy and STD rates. Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm is poised to expand the initiative nationwide in the summer, the Sunday Mail reports. However, the number of teen pregnancies among females ages 13 to 15 in the pilot city has risen by 10 percent to a total of 112 in the past two years -- while the teen pregnancy rate in the rest of Scotland has dropped. PETS SAFE IN APARTMENT COMPLEX A protest over an insurance company's plan to give $150 gift cards to janitors reporting on illegal pets in a New York City apartment complex turned into a victory lap. Richard Thompson, chief executive officer of Meow Mix, had planned to protest the bounty on animals by driving through the apartment complexes in his "Meow-Mix Mobile" -- a vehicle in the shape of a cat. Thompson had upped the ante and offered to pay $160 to any employee who was going to report an illegal pet to keep quiet, the New York Post reports. Advertisement However, after Thompson's announcement the apartment complex owners backed off -- so the Meow-Mix Mobile drive through the apartment area was all about free cat food and cat treats. RUSSIANS BRIBE TO GET IN COLLEGE A study estimates 20 percent of parents in Russia have paid bribes or are ready to pay teachers to get their children into college. The study, by the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, also finds that once students are accepted the bribes must continue until they graduate. "Corruption in education is not on such a big scale as in healthcare system, but is approaching this scale," study leader Yaroslav Kuzminov tells Pravda. "This practice in education is far more dangerous than in healthcare -- it demoralizes our teachers and will bring down the reputation of our education." PEOPLE LEAVE JEWELS IN CLOTHING Two rings valued at $30,000 recently were discovered by an employee as she sorted through donated clothing at a Vancouver, British Columbia-area Value Village. Seattle-based Savers Inc., which operates a chain of thrift stores that sells items from 120 charities that have collected donations, says people often forget valuables in donated items. "We regularly find valuable items clearly not intended for donation in the goods we buy from our non-profit partners -- from wads of money, to Rolex watches and yes, even wedding rings," says Mike Davison, district manager. "It's our policy in those cases to find the rightful owner." Advertisement If the owner is not found, Value Village will sell the rings and make a donation to the Canadian Diabetes Society, the charity that collected the donation.
