CAIRO, Ill. (AP) - In these tough times, lots of folks are losing their cars to the repo-man -- including the cops. The sheriff's department of Alexander County, Ill., is turning over five patrol cars to a bank because of nonpayment. Sheriff David Barkett says he surrendered the patrol cars after talking to bank officials. His department in Southern Illinois is in one the areas of the state hit hardest by the Great Recession. It's not clear how many cars the department has left.
LAWYER-SEX
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A New York lawyer is in trouble for trading sex for legal
work. An Albany, N.Y., jury has convicted Matthew Swedick on one misdemeanor
count of official misconduct. The jury heard tapes client Latoya Gorton secretly
recorded. Prosecutors charged Swedick promised to work harder on her drug case
if she would have sex with him. Swedick testified he had a sexual relationship
with the client that had nothing to do with his legal work. His lawyer says
they'll appeal the conviction.
LOTTERY-UNCLAIMED PRIZE
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Someone's good luck is about to turn bad. In just a matter
of hours, a $250,000 winning lottery ticket will become worthless. The Mega
Millions ticket turns into a pumpkin at 5 p.m. The Virginia Lottery says the
ticket was bought at a suburban Richmond 7-Eleven for the March 27th drawing.
The winning ticket matched the first five numbers, but missed the Mega Ball. But
none of that will matter if the jackpot winner misses the deadline. Officials
say if the jackpot isn't claimed, the money goes into a state education fund.
MAFIA'S CROC
ROME (AP) - An accused Mafia don is now without his croc. Italian authorities
report they've seized a crocodile used by an alleged Naples mob boss to
intimidate local businessmen. Italy's anti-Mafia police say the mob boss would
threaten to feed business owners to the crocodile if they didn't pay protection
money. It was an offer they couldn't refuse. The suspected don wasn't busted,
but police say he's under investigation for illegal possession of an animal.
FLYING COWS
HONOLULU (AP) - Cows fly -- but not over the moon. In this case, a cow gave
birth while on a flight from California to Hawaii. Big Island-based Island Dairy
chartered a jet to bring over a herd of 50 pregnant cows earlier this month.
Island Dairy herd manager Adam Beard says there were 51 animals when the plane
landed. A bull calf was delivered somewhere over the Pacific. The cows weren't
due to give birth for about a month. But Beard says the stress of flying might
have contributed to the early birth. They're calling the little bull "Air-born."
SPUD STUD
KIMBERLY, Idaho (AP) - This spud's for you. That's the pitch farmers and
researchers are making to McDonald's. It's been seven years since Mickey-D's has
added a new potato variety for french fries. Researchers at the University of
Idaho are testing a number of potato variants, hoping to ID a new variety that
can make the McDonald's cut. And it's no small potatoes. McDonald's is a huge
spud buyer, 3 billion pounds a year around the world.
