■UNITED STATES MySpace clip proves costly
Burger King Corp said on Tuesday it had parted ways with an employee who was recorded taking a soapy bath in a utility sink in one of its Ohio restaurants in a video that ended up on his MySpace page. The video, which was posted online last Thursday, shows the man taking the bath to celebrate his birthday. The employee refers to himself only as “Mr. Unstable” and appears to be naked. Timothy Tackett, 25, told WDTN-TV in Dayton that he was the sink-bather. He said he regretted taking the bath because it led to the firing of the employee who did the recording, as well as the restaurant’s shift manager.
■UNITED STATES Age no bar to sex
Getting old does not mean saying so long to sex, US researchers said yesterday. More than three-quarters of American men aged 75 to 85 and half of women that age are still interested in sex, a survey of the elderly by University of Chicago researchers found. “It’s not age per se; that when you get to 80 it’s all over with,” said sociologist Edward Laumann, who led the study of 3,000 American men and women aged 57 to 85 who lived at home. “It’s driven by more proximate factors such as if you become obese, or you’re smoking too much, or you contract diabetes. Medications can depress sexual interest. The aging process itself is not a major factor driving these results.”
■UNITED STATES Spanish burglar resentenced
A confessed burglar from Spain described by police as one of the most prolific thieves in Los Angeles’ history was resentenced on Tuesday to seven-and-a-half years in prison after making a police training video showing how he stole about US$16 million in property. In an effort to win the slightly reduced sentence, Ignacio DelRio also drew a map that led police to some US$400,000 worth of stolen goods he had buried under a San Fernando Valley freeway overpass. “He confessed to 1,000 burglaries, and I have been able to find 180 victims so far,” police Detective Robert Longacre said. DelRio, 33, was previously sentenced to 12 years after being convicted of 16 counts of burglary, receiving stolen property and attempted escape. Under his new sentence, he will be given credit for nearly three years of time served and time off for good behavior.
■UNITED STATES Dog guards body for weeks
A dog stood guard over her owner’s body for up to six weeks after the man committed suicide on the remote northeastern Colorado plains, officials said. The body of 25-year-old Jake Baysinger was found on Sunday on the Pawnee National Grasslands. Cash, his German shepherd, was found beside him, thin and dehydrated but still alive. Baysinger was reported missing June 28. Cash has been reunited with Baysinger’s wife, Sara, and her two-year-old son, Lane.
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