Minnesota hero uses bare hands to free driver of burning SUV

By Jonathan Kaminsky

(Reuters) - A Minnesota man used his bare hands to pry open a passenger-side door of a burning sport utility vehicle and save a trapped motorist from near-certain death, police said Tuesday.

The incident has left police marveling at the actions of Bob Renning, 52, who - apparently fueled by a burst of adrenaline - pried open the door of Minneapolis resident Michael Johannes's 2006 Chevrolet TrailBlazer on Sunday evening.

"To say his actions were heroic would be putting it lightly," said Lieutenant Eric Roeske, spokesman for the Minnesota State Patrol. "He almost certainly saved Mr. Johannes from a horrible death."

Renning was driving along an interstate freeway at about 6:30 p.m. CDT when he noticed the SUV on fire in a suburb north of Minneapolis, Roeske said.

After motioning for Johannes to pull over, Renning approached the burning vehicle, Roeske said.

Johannes, 51, tried to get out on his own, but the electrical system was disabled and he could not unlock the doors, Roeske said.

That is when Renning bent open the top of the passenger door, cleared the shattered glass from the window and pulled Johannes to safety, Roeske said. Soon after, the truck was entirely engulfed in flames.

Johannes escaped the incident with minor injuries, and the cause of the fire is not yet clear, Roeske said.

"Vehicle fires get hot incredibly fast and oftentimes the opportunity for rescue is very short," Roeske said. "It was a good thing Mr. Renning was there and able to pry that door open."

(Reporting by Jonathan Kaminsky in New Orleans; editing by Gunna Dickson)

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Britain's coalition hands back cash bequest

LONDON (Reuters) - One of the more unusual political donations in British political history will be paid into the public purse after the two-party coalition government bowed to pressure on Wednesday to return a former nurse's 520,000-pound bequest.

Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives and their coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats, initially divided Joan Edwards' money between them, saying it had been left to "whichever party" was in power when she died.

But they decided to hand the money to the Treasury after protests from newspapers and MPs who said Edwards had intended to help the nation, not political parties.

In a copy of the will seen by the Daily Mail newspaper, Edwards, 90, left her wealth to "whichever government is in office at the date of my death for the government in their absolute discretion to use as they think fit".

The bequest made Edwards the biggest donor to the two parties in the second quarter.

Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith said "no one can truly believe this lady wanted her money squandered on electioneering". Britain goes to the polls in May 2015.

Party funding is a perennial source of controversy in British politics. Parties must declare all donations over 7,500 pounds to the electoral watchdog. The Edwards bequest was disclosed in the watchdog's quarterly report on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Peter Griffiths; Editing by Steve Addison)

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You’re doing it wrong: Only 5 percent wash hands the right way, study says

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold extended losses into a second session on Friday as strong U.S. data stoked uncertainty over the outlook for the Federal Reserve's massive bond-buying stimulus. A pull back in bond purchases would hurt gold, seen as a hedge against inflation. Bullion, down 17 percent for the year, has been hit by investor outflows in gold exchange traded funds and signs of softening demand in key buyers India and China. "There is uncertainty about the Fed tapering," said Brian Lan, managing director of Singapore-based dealer GoldSilver Central Pte Ltd. ...

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