UNITED STATES
Illusionist rescues partner
Criss Angel’s rescue of an escape artist trapped in a water-filled box was no illusion. Angel and Spencer Horsman were rehearsing for the opening night of the illusionist’s show at a Connecticut casino when Horsman became trapped in the box dangling above the stage and Angel came to his aid. The Las Vegas Sun reports that Horsman is recovering from the Wednesday accident. Foxwoods Resort Casino president and CEO Felix Rappaport said in a statement that the show would go on. Rappaport said the opening night of The Supernaturalists was rescheduled from Thursday to Friday, because the safety of the cast and crew is the priority.
UNITED STATES
Mutt takes ugliest dog title
A 10-year-old mutt named Quasi Modo, whose spinal birth defects left him a bit hunchbacked, is the winner of this year’s World’s Ugliest Dog contest. The pit bull-Dutch shepherd mix and his owner took the US$1,500 prize on Friday night, besting 25 other dogs competing in the contest that applauds imperfection, organizers said. Quasi Modo was abandoned at an animal shelter before being adopted by a veterinarian in Loxahatchee, Florida, according to his biography posted on the contest’s Web site. “My appearance can be a little unsettling to some [I have had grown men jump on top of their cars to get away from me, because they thought I was a hyena or Tasmanian devil], but once they get to know me, I win them over with my bubbly personality,” his biography said. Two Chinese crested and Chihuahua mixes named Sweepee Rambo and Frodo took the second and third-place prizes respectively. An eight-year-old Chihuahua named Precious received the “spirit award,” honoring a dog and owner who have overcome obstacles and/or are providing service to the community. Precious, who is blind in one eye, is trained to monitor smells related to low blood sugar levels and alert her owner, a disabled veteran, of the problem, her biography said.
GERMANY
Artist defends gift horse
A German artist whose painting of a blue horse was presented as a gift to visiting British Queen Elizabeth II, prompting a quizzical reaction over its “strange color,” defended her work on Friday. Nicole Leidenfrost told German newspapers that her art was about “having fun” and insisted the 89-year-old queen had liked the rendering of her as a little girl being led on a pony by her father, King George VI. The modern artwork, based on a photograph, was presented to the queen, who is on a state visit to Germany with her husband, Prince Philip, by German President Joachim Gauck at the Bellevue Palace earlier in the week. “It’s a strange color for a horse,” the queen is seen saying in a brief video circulating on the Internet, before adding: “And that is supposed to be my father?” Leidenfrost shrugged off the reaction. “It’s about having fun! I don’t do deadly serious art,” she told the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, highlighting the symbolism of the horse’s “royal blue” hue. In an interview with Munich’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the artist said the queen had only briefly looked at the painting, but that it was visibly a “very cordial” situation. “She laughed and was pleased. And that was exactly my goal,” Leidenfrost said. German commentators on Friday also picked up on negative remarks in some British newspapers about the gift, with Berlin’s Tagesspiegel defending “artistic freedom.” And several could not resist adding: “Never look a gift horse in the mouth.”
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
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