Daily Telegraph / BBC

UK police  unveiled a police tractor yesterday, it was not paid for by public money,    Lincolnshire’s $75,000  tractor has been lent by manufacturer John Deere and modified by the National Farmers’ Union.

The police tractor will be displayed at shows to highlight police work but could also be used in the event of severe flooding or an environmental disaster.

It is decked out in police livery and, despite a top speed of 25mph, has a flashing blue light.

Lincolnshire police will display it at farming shows to highlight the fight against agricultural crime.

Photo: MASONS

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 6:35 PM on 3rd September 2010

There might be the occasional flare-up on court - but it was on the genteel stands of the Arthur Ashe Stadium that the real action took place yesterday.

Police were forced to escort three fans out of the U.S. Open after a fight broke out during Novak Djokovic’s match against Philipp Petzschner.

The second round match was halted in the eighth game of the first set after the brawl kicked off - apparently when a female spectator and her father took exception to another fan’s swearing.

Third-seed Djokovic and Petzschner stopped playing and looked up into the stands while New York police handcuffed the fans and led them out of the stadium in Flushing Meadows, Queens.

ST LOUIS – The Internal Revenue Service today warned about a fraudulent scheme targeting taxpayers who use the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System to pay federal taxes electronically via the Internet or phone.

The scheme uses an e-mail that claims your tax payment was rejected and directs you to a website for additional information. The website contains malware that will attempt to infect your computer.

“Because so many people prepare and file their taxes electronically, they may wrongly assume the IRS will contact them online about their taxes,” said IRS spokesman Michael Devine.  “The IRS never sends unsolicited e-mails about your taxes.” 

 The IRS says if you receive a suspicious e-mail or an e-mail from someone claiming to be from the IRS directing you to website for additional information, do not reply to the sender, access links on the site or submit any information to them.  Please forward the e-mail or URL information to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.

Devine said usually the first contact from the IRS for most taxpayers will be a letter or notice that arrives through the mail that explains the situation and provides contact information. 

More information about phishing is available on the IRS.gov web site.  To verify the IRS is trying to contact you, call the IRS toll-free number, 800-829-1040.

Ed Merrison, Sky News Online

A planeload of British Airways passengers feared for their lives when they were told they were going to crash - only to learn the warning message went out in error.

Travelers flying from Heathrow to Hong Kong heard the message: “This is an emergency. We may shortly need to make an emergency landing on water.”

Cabin crew on the Boeing 747 had to quickly reassure passengers their worst nightmare was not about to come true, telling them the warning was a mistake and there was no emergency.

BA, which said the incident took place within the last seven days, apologized for the scare.

The airline explained that the message was an automatic one triggered by a computer.

By Liz Thomas Daily Mail

Age defying: Helen Mirren, 65, left, Jerry Hall, 54, and Kim Catrall, 54, have been showing off their bikini bodies

They have wider straps, gauge wires and built-in mesh to support and shape the bust in the same way that lingerie does, while the bikini bottoms have higher waistlines.

Sales of the ‘grankinis’ have risen 118 per cent in two years at Debenhams  -  driven by those in their fifties and sixties.

Sasha Nagalingham, the store’s swimwear buyer, said: ‘A full costume on an older lady instantly says “granny”; but a supportive, well-proportioned bikini is less ageing and accentuates rather than hides natural shape.’

A survey showed 71 per cent of customers aged 50 to 65 had replaced their one-piece with a bikini in the past few years.

Dame Helen caused a stir in 2008 when pictures showed her looking remarkably toned and youthful while posing in a red bikini on holiday in Italy. She has since insisted it was simply a flattering picture.

August 19, 2010  8:02 pm BBC

The idea was simple: grow marijuana in the woods, and use wild bears to keep away law enforcement (and poachers). Keep the bears happy by feeding them dog food. Let Mother Nature do her thing, and later profit!

Sure enough, the Mounties arrived and on cue the dozen-or-so bears greeted the visitors. But instead of chasing away the law, the bears just played around with the cop car and wandered off.

“They were tame, they just sat around watching. At one point one of the bears climbed onto the hood of a police car, sat there for a bit and then jumped off,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Fred Mansveld told the BBC.

Although the photos of the smiling mounties next to the tame bears are cute, because the pot-growers had been feeding the animals (an illegal act in Canada), officials say the bears may have to be put down. The fear is that because the bears are now comfortable around humans, they are more likely to attempt to interact with people again — something that is safe for neither people nor bears.

Another theory is that the bears were being kept as pets, which is also probably a funny idea to those under the influence, but a bad one for any clear-headed thinker.

RELATED STRANGE ANIMAL NEWS:
Drunk Australian man is injured while trying to pet 16-foot saltwater crocodile

Russian diver attempts to teach his dachshund to scuba dive

By ThirdAge News Staff  ThirdAge.com

Posted August 18, 2010 12:52 PM

An egg recall is taking place upon recognition of a potential salmonella contamination. Along with Minnesota, the recall affects Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado and California.

There have been seven confirmed cases of salmonella in Minnesota linked to the multistate recall One of the seven people sickened was hospitalized for a short time but has recovered.

The recalled eggs were packaged under the following brand names: Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund and Dutch Farms and Kemps.

The eggs, packed in 6-, 12- and 18-egg cartons, have date codes and plant codes on the end of the cartons. Date codes range from 136 (May 16) to 225 (last Saturday). The affected plants’ codes are 1026, 1413 and 1946. The plant number begins with the letter P and then the number. The date follows the plant number, for example: P-1946 223.Today is day number 233 out of 365.

Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
Healthy people infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections, endocarditis or arthritis.

Anyone who bought the affected eggs should not eat them but return them to the point of purchase for a refund.

Read more: http://www.thirdage.com/news/egg-recall-effect-due-salmonella-contamination-fears_8-17-2010#ixzz0xB1nsYKb

The former girlfriend of a famous French chef has confessed to punching him to
death and then hiding his body in a freezer for the past two years, prosecutors say.

The police raided the apartment the two used to share in Lyon, southwest France
The daughter told police. When they arrived at the apartment, Collober collapsed in tears
saying, “I think you’ll find what you’re looking for.”

The body of French chef Jean-Francois Poinard was found stuffed in freezer. Police say it may
have been there as long as two years.

The restaurateur who was regarded as one of the country’s best chefs in the 1970s and 1980s,
was found wrapped in plastic bags

The superintendent at the building where the two began sharing an apartment six years ago said
she heard frequent arguments between the two, The Daily Mail reported, but didn’t pay attention
when the fights stopped.

A Swedish motorist caught driving at 180 mph  in Switzerland could be given a world-record speeding fine of $1m, prosecutors say.
The 37-year-old, who has not been named, was clocked driving his Mercedes sports car at 110 mph over the limit.
Under Swiss law, the level of fine is determined by the wealth of the driver and the speed recorded.
In January, a Swiss driver was fined $290,000 - the current world record.
The Swede’s car - a Mercedes SLS AMG - has been impounded.

Bilbo Baggins may have upped sticks long ago, but The Shire’s hobbit houses are proving popular with a whole new set of residents.

The New Zealand farmland that was transformed into Middle Earth for the Lord of the Rings film series has been recolonised by sheep, some of whom have set up home in the deserted hobbit holes.
The rolling green pastures that provided the backdrop for director Peter Jackson’s trilogy were originally going to be converted into hobbit theme park, to attract tourists to the town of Matamata on the country’s North Island.
 
Visitors are able to explore the village through Hobbiton Movie Set and Farm Tours, a company established by the farmers who own the land.