By DAN MANGAN, Wire Services
June 10, 2008
A West Virginia mayor is fighting an effort to grant a pay raise - to himself.
Huntington Mayor David Felinton says he will veto the hike, which would give him $90,000 annually instead of the current $62,000.
The City Council says the raise is needed to attract qualified candidates for the 2012 election.
A 75-pound meteorite resembling Michigan's Lower Peninsula sold for $20,000 at an auction in Dallas on Sunday, disappointing seller Darryl Pitt, who had expected to get up to $40,000 for the space rock.
At the same auction, a meteorite weighing 1,500 pounds and resembling the Indian subcontinent sold for $90,000.
Shopkeepers in several Canadian provinces now are banned from displaying cigarettes on store shelves, even though they can still display porn.
The ban on displaying tobacco products requires stores to either hide the smokes in drawers or behind wall coverings that cost up to $980 a pop.
"It's a pain in the ass, and a double-standard," said a Toronto shop owner, noting that the province of Ontario runs liquor stores.
A bank clerk in Serbia stole nearly 1.5 million euros from his bank, left a note saying, "I'm sorry, but I had to do it," buried the cash in a park, and then called police from a cafe asking, "How long do I have to wait for you."
Cops said they did not yet know Alexandar Spasci's motive for the bizarre crime and confession.
A US research base in Antarctica just got a shipment of 16,500 condoms to get its staff of just 125 through the upcoming long, dark winter.
The condoms are being provided to keep people from being embarrassed about buying them at the McMurdo base station.
"Since everybody knows everyone, it becomes a bit uncomfortable," said McMurdo's manager, Bill Henriksen.
