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Magazine says AP working on Britney obit
‘We are not wishing it ... we would have to be prepared,’ editor says

MSNBC News Services
updated 10:48 a.m. ET, Fri., Jan. 18, 2008

Usmagazine.com is reporting that The Associated Press has begun preparing Britney Spears’ obituary.

“We are not wishing it, but if Britney passed away, it’s easily one of the biggest stories in a long time,” AP entertainment editor Jesse Washington tells the magazine.

“I think one would agree that Britney seems at risk right now,” Washington says. “Of course, we would never wish any type of misfortune on anybody and hope that we would never have to use it until 50 years from now ... but if something were to happen, we would have to be prepared.”

Washington also tells Us that the AP has a “pretty extensive obituary operation,” and that staffers are “constantly adding people.”

It’s not uncommon for news organizations to have obituaries prepared for celebrities and other high-profile individuals, but they are generally much older than the 26-year-old Spears.

Couple Find Nearly $12K in 'Cold Cash'

JANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) - A Janesville couple are hoping they will be allowed to keep the nearly $12,000 in cash they found in their refrigerator when they moved into an apartment.

"It would be a very big help," said Colleen Mesler, 65. "We've been waiting and waiting, and nobody's called to claim it. Other people have found money and got to keep it."

Mesler cried as she talked about the money she found while cleaning the refrigerator in her apartment in early December.

The previous renters have been charged in drug trafficking cases. Police searched the apartment in February and seized crack cocaine, marijuana, a scale and other materials related to drug sales. They found $1,100 on one of the defendants but no bills with serial numbers matching those undercover agents used to buy drugs.

Lost man survives a week by eating snow

Fri Jan 11, 10:24 AM ET

A Japanese climber lost in the mountains for more than a week in frigid conditions survived by eating snow before making his way down to a ski resort on Friday, Japanese media said.

Masayuki Nakamura headed into the Azuma mountain range about 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo on December 30, saying he planned to be back on January 2.

But he became disoriented in the snow and wandered the area for more than a week, reports said. He had no mobile phone and his food supply ran out after a few days.

A ski resort employee found Nakamura walking along a road close to the ski hills Friday, Kyodo news agency said. He was taken to hospital suffering from mild frostbite.

"I really thought I was done for, so I was truly happy that I made it," Kyodo news agency quoted him as telling a reporter. "I never want to climb a mountain again."

Janesville Deputy Police Chief David Moore said the city will likely keep the money.

"If it is determined that the money is the proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs, then it would be contraband, and on behalf of Janesville taxpayers, we would seize that money," Moore said. But, he added, that has not yet been determined.

Colleen Mesler found the moldy and deteriorating bills wrapped in tin foil and plastic in the freezer. Her husband told her to throw the tray out.

"I thought it was old meat, stale meat," said Jim Mesler, 55.

"But it didn't smell like bad meat," Colleen Mesler said. "I pulled it apart and found $100 bills. I was more shocked. 'I'm not throwing this away,' I thought."

The couple spent the afternoon warming the bills in the oven and separating them with tweezers.

"About $2,000 of it was torn up, or we couldn't get the mold off it," Jim Mesler said. "I just went and looked in the mirror and thought, 'Nothing like this happens to us.'"

Police estimated the stash at $11,950. A precise tally wasn't possible because some bills were stuck together or had deteriorated, according to a court document.

The couple said they would still turn in the cash if they had to do it over. But with an income below poverty level, they are hoping the money will eventually be returned to them.

What would they do with it?

"Pay our bills," the couple said in unison.

Hey, You. You're on Jury Duty

Jan 10, 8:17 PM (ET)

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (AP) - Faced with a shrunken jury pool, a judge resorted to some sidewalk justice in hopes of filling it out. It worked. Judge Harold Eaton, Jr., discouraged when a 34-person pool of would-be jurors for a sex case was reduced to 20 people, sent sheriff's deputies into the street to summon people to join in Wednesday.

Taking up positions on a sidewalk in front of the U.S. Post Office, Caledonia County Sheriff Michael Bergeron and three uniformed deputies stopped people, asking if they lived in the county. If they did, and were 18 or older, each was given a summons to report to the courthouse.

According to Bergeron, "99.9 percent were just excellent" about being summoned. "They were great. We certainly appreciate that."

"We hope it won't happen again."

Defense attorney David Sleigh objected to the impromptu jury pool, telling Eaton he should postpone the draw and start with a new pool. Eaton denied that request.

The 12-person jury picked will hear the case of Aldoph Charron, 65, of St. Johnsbury, who is charged with two felony counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.

REASON #476 - WHY NOT TO GO TO TIJUANA!

6 bodies found in Tijuana after shootout
Police: Executed kidnapping victims found after gunmen took refuge
The Associated Press
updated 3:52 a.m. ET, Fri., Jan. 18, 2008

TIJUANA, Mexico - Officials said they found six executed kidnapping victims inside a Tijuana house where gunmen took refuge Thursday during a chaotic three-hour shootout with soldiers and police.

The victims, all male, were blindfolded and gagged and had been shot in the head, said Edgar Millan, a spokesman with the federal Public Safety Department, at a news conference in Tijuana.

Soldiers, state and local police were sent in to help control the firefight that began when federal agents prepared to raid a house near the U.S. border that police now say was a shelter for a cell of the Arellano Felix drug cartel.

Three nearby schools were evacuated, and television showed police running with small children in their arms while shots rang out.

Millan said the shootout killed one gunman and wounded four officers, in the latest outbreak of violence across the border from San Diego.

Four gunmen arrested
Four gunmen were arrested -- one is a state police investigator and another a Tijuana police officer, he said. The four men will be flown to Mexico City for questioning.

Millan said officials recovered 11 automatic rifles and three bulletproof vests inside the house.

Already this week, gunmen shot and killed eight people in Tijuana, including two local police officers, as well as a district commander, his wife and his 12-year-old daughter.

Also Thursday, employees at Tijuana's City Hall and police headquarters were evacuated after receiving death threats over a police radio frequency, said Abraham Sarabia, a spokesman for city police.

Mexico has seen a spike in gang-related killings since the beginning of the year. The Mexican government has described the violence as revenge for President Felipe Calderon's year-old crackdown on organized crime that sent thousands of soldiers and federal police into violence-plagued cities nationwide.

In the central Mexican state of Hidalgo on Wednesday, assailants killed the director of public safety for the town of Tulancingo.

Jose Alvarado was shot more than 20 times, Hidalgo state police director Ahuizotl Figueroa said.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.