■ BRAZIL
Rio police arrested
Rio de Janeiro police arrested two fellow officers on Thursday, accusing them of extorting money from two American tourists who happened to be San Francisco cops on vacation. The US tourists were leaving a night club in Rio's Copacabana beach neighborhood before dawn on Wednesday, when two uniformed police officers approached them and searched them for drugs. Although no drugs were found, the officers told the tourists they would have to pay a bribe or be arrested. One of the Americans went back to their hotel to fetch the equivalent of some US$2,200 in local and foreign currency. The Brazilian policemen then took off with the money and an MP3 player.
■ UNITED STATES
Senior becomes Eagle Scout
More than a half-century after he finished the requirements to earn the rank, an 88-year-old Florida man was honored as an Eagle Scout, making him possibly the oldest person to ever collect the Boy Scout honor. Walter Hart could not become an Eagle Scout at the time he earned the rank because his service in World War II got in the way. "I've been looking forward to this for a long time," Hart, who lives in a retirement center in Lehigh Acres said on Saturday. Hart joined the Cub Scouts in 1928 and earned 23 merit badges during his years as a Boy Scout, officials said. Of the 120 merit badges available, 21 must be earned to qualify for Eagle Scout rank.
■ UNITED STATES
Ketchup packet up for record
An Illinois community has sought to create the world's largest packet of ketchup. Collinsville, Illinois, has partnered with the HJ Heinz Co to fill a 2.4m tall and 1.2m-wide plastic pouch with 680kg of the tomato goop for a school fundraiser. The company donated 4,000 glass bottles of the condiment for people to buy for US$1 and pour into the packet. Proceeds will go to the Collinsville Christian Academy, which was damaged by a fire this week. Hundreds in the city, home to a 52m water tower shaped like a condiment bottle.
■ UNITED STATES
Ancient mask discovered
Archeologists working in Alaska have found the remains of a whalebone mask believed to be about 3,000 years old. The partial mask was discovered earlier this month while archeologists were unearthing an ancient village, and is about 2,000 years older than any known Aleut mask, according to archeologists. Residents of the ancient site -- a village marked by unprecedented heated stone houses and ivory carvings -- ate polar bears, ice seals and a type of whale that has never been documented in North American waters, said Rick Knecht, an archeologist at University of Alaska Fairbanks.
RSS