WhiteBoard News for Wednesday, February 26, 2003

New York, New York (Reuters):

Stewart Enterprises Inc., America's No. 3 funeral home and cemetery operator, cut its earnings estimate for the year, partly because, to put it bluntly, not enough people are dying. 

For an industry that profits from death, the first quarter is not shaping up well. Stewart said Monday there were fewer deaths than expected in the quarter just ended, which is historically a season of harsh weather and flu epidemics. 

In addition, more people were choosing cremations over higher-priced burials and also it is becoming more difficult to sell funeral packages in advance to Americans who are focused on near-term problems like the economy and possible war with Iraq, the company said. 

The announcement that Stewart was cutting its 2003 earnings estimate sent its stock plummeting. 
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Santiago, Chile (La Cuarta):

Police say a gang leader with no arms or legs was the getaway driver in a robbery in Chile.

The 20-year-old, who has stumps for arms and legs, was arrested after the raid in Santiago.

Police say he told officers he learned to drive using a Formula 1 simulator, and that he used ropes and wooden blocks to control the car.

He told La Cuarta newspaper: "I used a Nasa manual from 1956 as a guide to build the adaptor for the car.

"In the manual they described how they would tie up a dog to control a spaceship and I took inspiration from there."

The man drove the getaway car by tying his knees to the steering wheel and controlling the pedals with sticks tied to his neck and elbows.

Police say he waited in the car while his two accomplices robbed an empty apartment in the neighbourhood of Las Condes.

But they were all arrested after the doorman called the police while the gang were still inside.

A police spokesman said: "The man [with no arms or legs] was the bravest of them all. He drove the car at us when he saw us arriving, but we managed to control the situation."
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Climmback, Germany (Ananova):

A German dentist found a Second World War bullet lodged in a pensioner's neck during a routine check-up.

Walter Henning, 83, from Climmbach in Hessen, had no idea the Russian bullet was in his neck until his dentist told him he needed an x-ray.

Henning said: "It must have happened in 1944 in East Prussia. Our tank was under heavy fire from the Russians and I remember feeling a little scratch.

"The doctor says I shouldn't take it out now. It's been there the whole time and didn't hurt me," he added.
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Terre Haute, Indiana (AP):

Vivian Frazier won't forget her last kiss with her new husband, at least for the next two years. 

Authorities say Frazier, who married Jeremy Guinther in an Indiana jailhouse in July, passed 2 grams of methamphetamine to Guinther in a kiss during the ceremony. 

Frazier was sentenced Monday to two years in prison after pleading guilty to a felony charge of trafficking with an inmate. 

The exchange was caught when a Vigo County Jail guard became suspicious after seeing Guinther with a slight bulge in his cheek. When ordered to open his mouth, Guinther swallowed, according to a sheriff's department report. 

The packet of drugs was recovered during a hospital stay, prosecutors said. 

Guinther, 26, pleaded guilty in December to a felony drug possession charge in connection with the wedding kiss. He also pleaded guilty to unrelated charges of theft and drug possession and is currently serving his sentence in a state prison. 

The jail now has a rule against kissing during lock-up weddings. 
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Hong Kong (China Daily):

A husband had to file a lawsuit to prove to his wife that a passionate Valentine's Day text message on his mobile phone was a wrong number.

The Hong Kong man's wife went berserk when she discovered the text declaring undying love on her husband's mobile phone and immediately asked for a divorce.

However, the text had been sent to the wrong mobile phone by mistake by a teenager who had missed a date with her boyfriend, according to the Hong Kong edition of China Daily.

The only way the man could prove to his wife that he was not having an affair was to file a lawsuit against the original sender.

The teenager has now apologised to the couple and the lawsuit and divorce proceedings have been dropped.
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Snezka Mountain, Czech Republic (Ananova):

A climber who survived a 1,700 feet fall from a mountainside, brushed himself off and climbed back to the peak.

Czech mountain rescuers looked on in amazement as the man picked himself up after his fall from the side of the 5,300 foot Snezka mountain in the north of the country.

They say he brushed the snow off his backpack and headed back up the mountain again.

Valerian Spusta, a member of the mountain rescue team, said: "He was up on the mountain, and according to what he told us, he had wanted to take advantage of the sunny day and take pictures.

"He probably stepped to one side while looking through the lens of his camera and just flew down the side.

"We all stared at him in amazement. It was a real miracle that he didn't die."

Another member of the mountain rescue team, Viktor Korizek, said: "Luckily he fell and landed right next to a colleague of mine who was on his way up through the valley below the mountain."

The climber, who has not been identified, was later seen on top of the mountain after his second attempt at reaching the peak.
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