Jockstrip: The world as we know it

Man, 18, shoots friend on a dare

WICHITA, Kan., June 18 (UPI) -- An 18-year-old Kansas man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly shooting his friend on a dare.

Police said the incident began when the 17-year-old friend taunted the 18-year-old with a gun, saying the 18-year-old would not shoot him, The Wichita Eagle reported.

The 18-year-old then shot his friend in the thigh, police said.

When police arrived, the two reportedly said the older teen had found the younger teen in the street with a gunshot wound, but police said they had reason to be suspicious.

Police said the two had been using drugs at the time of the shooting.

The 17-year-old was taken to a hospital and the 18-year-old was arrested for aggravated battery, the newspaper said.

Rabbit plague causes airport closure

MILAN, Italy, June 18 (UPI) -- Officials at Linate Airport in Milan, Italy, are considering a cull after airport operations had to be suspended due to a population explosion among hares.

The rabbits invaded the runways at the airport and confused ground radar and other vital equipment, the BBC reported.

The hare population has been on a dramatic rise in the past few months. The cause of the population explosion is still unknown.

In the meantime, the BBC said, the airport closed so wildlife experts could try to capture the hares and release them in nature reserves around Milan.

Airport authorities said they have not ruled out a cull if the capture and release program does not work.

Hot Chicago bridges refuse to close

CHICAGO, June 18 (UPI) -- Weeklong temperatures in the 90s took their toll on people and metal alike as drawbridges over the Chicago River refused to close.

"It's a matter of simple physics," said Brian Steele of the Chicago Transportation Department. "The high temperatures caused the metal to expand."

The weight of a parked fire truck locked the Jackson Street bridge into place after it refused to close and the State Street bridge needed cold water from a fire boat to contract its metal, reported The Chicago Sun-Times.

"We're in the summer solstice, so the sun's strength is at its peak," said Michael Gubricky, a fire department chief. "When the bridge is up, the sun heats the tips that lock together."

The bridges open for an average of eight to 10 minutes at a time -- just long enough for the sun's heat to expand the metal, Gubricky said.

"This is a rare occurrence, and it is the first time this year we experienced problems with the bridges," said Steele.

Computers create own musical compositions

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo., June 18 (UPI) -- A computer scientist in Missouri is set to release a musical album created almost entirely by computers with artificial intelligence.

While Stephen Thaler of Imagination Engines Inc. did not provide his company's advanced Creativity Machines with musical samples, he did offer visual cues the machines used to design their own musical album, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

The Maryland Heights, Mo., scientist simply filmed himself on a Web cam listening to the sounds the computers made and either smiled or frowned depending on how pleasing they were.

"Anything that sounded like country music or garbage I discarded or gave a low score," Thaler said.

The advanced computers then used that critique to create their own melodies, which were then blended by a human musician into 14 original songs.

The Post-Dispatch said the songs, which range from techno to a Top-40 style ballad, will soon be released by Thaler on an album entitled "Song of the Neurons."