GM returns stolen Corvette to owner after 33 years

DETROIT (AP) — The last time George Talley saw his beloved 1979 Chevrolet Corvette was when he parked it on Jefferson Avenue in Detroit in 1981.

That was 33 years ago, and Talley had believed the sports car was long gone until a surprise June 13 phone call from auto insurer AAA telling him his Vette was at a police station in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, about 840 miles southwest of Detroit.

"It was a lucky day to hear that my car had been found," Talley said Tuesday in a release. "They told me it was running, had 47,000 miles on it and was ready for me to pick up!"

GM Product Development Executive Vice President Mark Reuss heard the story and offered to ship the car back to Detroit where it was delivered Tuesday morning to Talley at the automaker's world headquarters — about three miles from where it was stolen.

"George's story brought a smile to my face," Reuss said. "As a longtime Corvette owner myself, I know the passion the car inspires. I also knew that car belonged home in Detroit, with its rightful owner, and we could make that happen."

Talley, 71, has owned three other Corvettes, but the 1979 model was his favorite, according to GM.

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Lost for 60 years, ring turns up in dry Texas lake

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — An 84-year-old Washington state woman will soon hold her 1953 university class ring, lost six decades ago, after it was found in a dried-up West Texas lake.

Elizabeth Clark lost her Howard Payne University class ring in 1954 in Lake Nasworthy near San Angelo when she and her future husband went for a picnic and waded into the water. Clark said she wasn't certain where she had lost the ring — after discovering it was missing, she looked around her home before going back to search at the lake.

After years of drought, the ring revealed itself in the lake bed and it was found in March. Someone from the school's alumni association drove to San Angelo to retrieve the ring and was able to identify it from the initials — AEL for Addie Elizabeth Little — inside the band.

"I worked hard for that ring," Clark said. "I'm grateful it was found and that it was in good shape after 60 years."

The ring, which is 10-karat gold with a blue stone, needed some cleaning up by a local jeweler.

Clark's daughter, Donna Clark-Love of Houston, said her mother was delighted.

"She cried, she was just couldn't believe it," she said. "This was like the highlight of her life. She is just thrilled."

Clark, one of 16 children, was the only one who finished college. She got her degree in elementary education and taught fifth grade in California for the Santa Anna Unified School District, where he daughter said she won a teacher of the year award.

The ring will be returned to Clark at a family reunion Friday in her hometown of Brownfield, about 40 miles southwest of Lubbock. The woman who found the ring, Lindsay Waddell, will present it to Clark.

"I think she's more excited about getting the ring back than coming to the reunion," Clark-Love said.

Clark, who remains in contact with many of her college friends, couldn't wait to tell them the good news, Clark-Love said.

"She got on the horn and called everybody," her daughter said.

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Letter written in Maine 83 years ago delivered

SKOWHEGAN, Maine (AP) — A letter written by a Maine school teacher in 1931 to her mother 150 miles away has finally been delivered — 83 years later.

Twenty-three-year-old Miriam McMichael sent the nine-page letter from Houlton to Dollena McMichael in Pittsfield. Both women have since died.

The letter was lost and only recently found at the Pittsfield post office. Postal worker Michelle Rowell found it and tells the Morning Sentinel she knew it was old because of the 2-cent stamp.

The postmaster and town officials tracked down the family, and the letter is now in the hands of 69-year-old Ann MacMichael, of Cornville, Miriam's niece and Dollena's granddaughter. The spelling of the family name has changed.

MacMichael says the irony is that the writer apologizes for not writing sooner.

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Information from: Morning Sentinel, http://www.onlinesentinel.com/

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Woman finds wedding ring missing for five years was in her dog

Kindergartner beats entire school to become spelling bee champ

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A 6-year-old kindergartner in South Jordan, Utah managed to beat students years older than him to win his elementary school’s spelling bee. As reported by KWTX News 10, Kazim Ali survived round after round of Eastlake Elementary School’s spelling bee to emerge as the school’s champion and the first kindergartner ever in the Jordan School District to earn that honor. “I’m good at reading books, coloring,” Kazim said. “I’m in kindergarten, but I really need to go to first grade because um, kindergarten, I passed already.” The feat is quite impressive but when he was asked why he wanted to compete in the school’s spelling bee he revealed, “It is not my idea, that’s my mom’s idea.” Mothers do know best and her son’s spelling prowess is evident when the youngster is able to easily spell out difficult words like “anthropomorphic.” The definitions however are a bit harder. When Kazim is asked what it means, the little boy said, “Well, uh, I have no idea.” Still, Kazim’s father says that his son knows 600 words and there’s no doubt that list is growing. During the school competition Kazim competed against students from every grade. “There was first grade, second grade, third grade and kindergarten. That’s me,” Kazim explained. “I’m only the one that’s the youngest.” Cindy Tingey, Eastlake’s assistant principal, who has been an educator for 22 years said, “I’ve never even heard of a kindergartner making it past the first round.” The first round started with the word “tag,” something Kazim said was, “Yeah, so easy.” Then as each round passed, more children were eliminated. Kazim recalled that at the end, “It was only me and a third grader.” That student received a big word that she misspelled then it was Kazim’s turn, but not before he gave a quick wave to his fans. “She made a word wrong and my winning word was actually “sapphire” and I did it,” said Kazim. The big win turned Kazim into quite the man at Eastlake Elementary. “Almost the whole school knows me,” said the champion. “If you win the spelling bee everybody in your school knows you.” To all those who are wondering what Kazim’s secret to success may be, he says simply, “I learned the most words than anyone in that spelling bee, that’s how I won.” "It was amazingly cool," said Assistant Principal Tingey. "He’s not only a great speller, he's just a cute kid." What’s next for young Kazim? He says that he wants to compete to be the national spelling bee champion, and he is aware that, “Yeah, but it will be very hard.” The rewards, however, are great. Kazim isn’t too shy to admit with a big smile, that he wants to win, “Because you get a lot of money…and a big trophy.”

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Ohio couple married 65 years die 11 hours apart

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Relatives of an Ohio couple who died at a nursing home 11 hours apart on the same day said their love story's ending reflects their devotion over 65 years of marriage.

Harold and Ruth Knapke died in their shared room on Aug. 11, days before their 66th anniversary, The Dayton Daily News (http://bit.ly/16KBNAJ ) reported. He was 91, she was 89.

The couple's daughters said they believe their father willed himself to stay by his wife's side despite failing health until they could take the next step in their journey together. He went first — his children saw it as his "final act of love" — and she followed.

"We believe he wanted to accompany her out of this life and into the next one, and he did," daughter Margaret Knapke said.

The couple had known each other as children and began their courtship as pen pals while Harold, known as "Doc," served in the Army during World War II. Ruth would later joke: "I let him chase me until I caught him!"

Her husband became a teacher, coach and athletic director at Fort Recovery Schools, the newspaper said. They raised six children while looking after each other with a devotion that didn't seem to diminish.

A photo taken this summer shows him lying in a bed, arm stretched through a guardrail to hold her hand, as she leans in to press the top of her head to his. When she was ailing, he blessed her each night with holy water, daughter Pat Simon said.

The Knapkes had a joint funeral Mass, with granddaughters carrying Ruth's casket and grandsons carrying Harold's casket. The cemetery procession stopped at the farm house where the couple had lived, and the current owners surprised the family by flying a flag at half-staff to honor the longtime loves.

"It is really just a love story," said Carol Romie, another daughter. "They were so committed and loyal and dedicated, they weren't going to go anywhere without the other one."

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Information from: Dayton Daily News, http://www.daytondailynews.com

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'Bucket List Bandit' gets 11 years sentence in Pa.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A bank robber nicknamed the "Bucket List Bandit" after allegedly telling a Utah teller he had just four months to live was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in federal prison for a string of heists spanning 10 states.

Michael Eugene Brewster's public defender told the federal judge who handed down the sentence that a medical evaluation found his client didn't have cancer or any other terminal illness.

Brewster's case made headlines after the Standard-Examiner of Ogden, Utah, gave Brewster the nickname because of the comment he reportedly made to a Wells Fargo Bank teller during a July 6, 2012, robbery in Roy, Utah. The FBI used the nickname to publicize subsequent robberies until they learned Brewster's real identity.

"The impetus for the crimes was greed, not grief," U.S. District Judge Sean McLaughlin told Brewster. His lawyer, Thomas Patton, declined to comment.

Brewster's sentence works out to a year for each of the 11 bank heists he committed across the country last year, though under federal sentencing guidelines, he might have received as little as 6½ years. Those guidelines, which take into account a person's criminal history and the seriousness of the crime, were increased because of the number of banks Brewster robbed, resulting in the longer sentence.

"Given what he did, and his age and all of the circumstances, he's going to be away a long time and substantially for most of the rest of his life," U.S. Attorney David Hickton said. "We're satisfied that justice was done."

Brewster, 54, formerly of Pensacola, Fla., was sentenced in Erie, the city 120 miles north of Pittsburgh where his nationwide robbery string ended Sept. 10. It began June 21, 2012, in Arvada, Colo.

Brewster was arrested three days after the Erie robbery when he ran a stop sign in Roland, Okla. Federal prosecutors brought him back to Erie and easily linked him to the other heists because he was seen wearing the same pale blue polo shirt, glasses and brushed back hair in surveillance videos.

According to court documents, Brewster stole a total of $33,858 and sometimes threatened tellers with violence and claimed to have a gun. Nobody was injured in the robberies.

The smallest amount Brewster stole was $632 from Landmark Bank in Columbia, Mo., on Aug 29, and the most he netted was $7,000 taken during the Utah heist that fueled his nickname.

Although the surveillance videos made it clear that one man was responsible for several robberies, the FBI didn't know who he was until a tipster saw news coverage of the Pennsylvania heist and gave agents Brewster's name and birth date.

In some cases, Brewster explained his actions by claiming to be terminally ill and, according to the FBI, specifically told the Utah teller, "I have four months to live."

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After 74 years and 3,000 letters, pen pals meet for first time

written more than 3,000 letters to each other over more than 70 years, but Audrey Sims and her friend Norma Frati had never met in person. Until now.

The pair were first in touch in 1940, when they were assigned to write each other a letter as part of a pen pal project in school. They continued to correspond, but Sims, 83, who lives in Australia, and Frati, 87, who lives in Texas, never got around to getting together.

I think we've got parallel families. We're both married and divorced and married again, and it’s sort of almost the same,” Sims said in an interview with Texas affiliate KHOU.

The pair, who share a mutual love of flowers, said they planned to visit some gardens during Sims’ stay. And the two women say that once Sims heads back to Australia, their written correspondence will resume.

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Dallas teacher wears same yearbook outfit for 40 years

Dale Irby is retiring after 40 years. And so is his yearbook outfit.

For his entire career at Prestonwood Elementary in the Richardson school district in Texas, the physical education teacher wore the same disco-era shirt and dirt-colored sweater each year for his yearbook picture.

At first, Irby told the Dallas Morning News, it was an accident when he wore the same outfit in the yearbook two years in a row.

“I was so embarrassed when I got the school pictures back that second year and realized I had worn the very same thing as the first year,” he said.

Then his wife, Cathy, dared him to make it three.

“After five pictures, it was like: ‘Why stop?’”

The gym teacher, now 63, had a pretty loose dress code much of the time that allowed him to wear shorts to school. But on picture day, it was dress-up day. And that day became a "Groundhog Day" of outfits: polyester, pointy-collared shirt and brown sweater.

The Dallas Morning News video shows the photos of the teacher's near-identical outfit year after year. The mustache gets a little grayer, and the eyeglasses get a little smaller. The rest of the look is the same. Impressively, he still fits into the same shirt as long as he "sucks it in a little."

While Irby’s fashion sense can be questioned, according to principal Pam Aitken, his contributions cannot. Irby, she said, was an educational treasure.

“He took his job so seriously in teaching good sportsmanship—both in athletics and in life,” Aitken told the Dallas Morning News. “He taught a lot of kids to be fair and respectful of others. That’s a great legacy.”

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Lover of late Hong Kong tycoon jailed 12 years for will forgery

By Grace Li and Brian Yap

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Hong Kong judge on Friday jailed a former lover of late billionaire tycoon Nina Wang for 12 years for forging a will naming him the sole heir to one of Asia's largest fortunes, estimated at $4 billion.

Justice Andrew Macrae delivered the sentence on Peter Chan, formerly known as Tony Chan, in the city's High Court a day after a jury found him guilty on charges of forgery and using a forged document. Chan had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Sentencing Chan to 12 years on each charge, to be served concurrently, Macrae highlighted the "shameless and unparalleled greed" at the heart of a "well-executed and planned" crime, that saw Chan exploit his relationship with Wang to obtain large amounts of her money in her final years.

"Never once ... have you shown the slightest remorse for your conduct," the judge said. "You took full advantage of her sadness, loneliness and tragic life."

As the sentence was handed down, Chan, dressed in dark suit and white shirt and flanked by three guards in the dock, stared solemnly at his wife in the public gallery, and nodded slowly.

His wife had sobbed throughout the hearing, covering her mouth with a small handkerchief.

The judge also ordered Chan to pay more than HK$2 million ($257,900) for legal costs the prosecution incurred in a preliminary inquiry the latter had requested.

Chan's lawyer and wife made no immediate reply to queries whether he would appeal against the judgment.

The proceedings had transfixed Hong Kong with revelations of adultery and bizarre rituals associated with "feng shui", a Chinese philosophy meaning "wind-water", aimed at creating harmonious surroundings and harnessing natural energies.

The 53-year-old father of three also described in court how he had enjoyed a passionate sexual relationship with the billionaire heiress, who was more than 20 years his senior.

Judge Macrae said Chan was tarnishing Wang's good name and reputation by making himself her sole beneficiary and diverting the money from her charitable foundation to himself.

Chan managed to get 30 million sterling from Wang when she was sick and fragile in the last two days of her life, the judge said, calling his behavior "shameless" and "wicked".

Hong Kong police investigators hailed the result.

"This shows that no matter how long we take, the Hong Kong judicial system will ensure that any culprit will be subject to the great hand of justice," Ho Pak-ling, an official of the Commercial Crime Bureau, told reporters outside the court.

Known as "Little Sweetie" after a favorite Japanese manga cartoon character, Wang was one of Asia's wealthiest women, with a business empire including the Chinachem Group, Hong Kong's largest private property developer. She died of cancer in 2007, aged 69.

The petite Wang, known for her braided pig-tails, mini-skirts and beloved pet dogs that she took to boardroom meetings, inherited most of her wealth from her husband, Teddy, who was kidnapped in 1990 and never seen alive again, despite the payment of a $33-million ransom.

The sentence is the latest setback for Chan, who was ordered in March to pay HK$340 million ($43.8 million) in tax arrears, and has been hit by the long, costly legal battle for Wang's estate that he lost in 2011.

Chan, a former bartender and feng shui master, who once lived in a cramped public housing flat, changed his name from Tony after that ruling and converted to Christianity this year.

In 2011, the High Court upheld a previous judgment that a 2006 will leaving Wang's entire estate to Chan was a forgery, and upheld an earlier will bequeathing her fortune to a charitable foundation run by her family.

(Editing by James Pomfret and Clarence Fernandez)

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Remains of New York woman missing for 28 years found in wall

By Francesca Trianni

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The remains of a New York schoolteacher who disappeared nearly 28 years ago have been discovered hidden in a false basement wall in the house where she lived with her husband, police said on Tuesday.

JoAnn Nichols was 55 years old when her husband James reported her missing in 1985, police in Poughkeepsie, New York, said. He died in December of natural causes, they added.

The remains were found when a contractor was asked to clean out the wood-frame house in Poughkeepsie, about 65 miles north of New York City. The house was filled with hoarded items and garbage, they said.

The remains were identified as belonging to the missing woman on Monday through dental records.

James Nichols told detectives he last saw his wife when he left for work at IBM in December 1985, according to Poughkeepsie Journal archives.

Her body was discovered wrapped in a sheet and plastic bag, tied with rope and placed in a fetal position inside a plastic container that was found in a false wall, said Kari Reiber, the county's medical examiner.

The location where she was found was enclosed, which might have helped hide the body's existence, she said.

"There might have not been any odor, even if she was there for a long time," Reiber said.

An autopsy revealed that Nichols, who taught first grade, died of blunt head trauma, Reiber said.

"She was struck in the head," she said. "It is being ruled a homicide."

After Nichols went missing, her husband was never ruled out as a suspect, said Poughkeepsie Police Captain Paul Lecomte.

Nichols taught her last class on December 20, 1985, when school let out for the winter holidays. The next day, she failed to show up for a salon appointment, according to the local newspaper's archives.

The couple had one child, who drowned at age 25, three years before Nichols' disappearance.

(Reporting by Francesca Trianni; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and David Brunnstrom)

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German clinic: Man had pencil in head for 15 years

BERLIN (AP) — German doctors say a man spent 15 years with a pencil in his head following a childhood accident.

Aachen University Hospital says the 24-year-old man from Afghanistan sought help in 2011 after suffering for years from headaches, constant colds and worsening vision in one eye. A scan showed that a 10-centimeter (4-inch) pencil was lodged from his sinus to his pharynx and had injured his right eye socket.

The unnamed man said he didn't know how the pencil got there but recalled that he once fell badly as a child.

The German doctors removed the pencil and say the man has recovered.

Hospital spokesman Mathias Brandstaedter said Wednesday the case was presented for the first time at a medical conference this week.

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Idaho man sentenced to seven years for killing zoo monkey

By Laura Zuckerman

(Reuters) - An Idaho man who admitted to breaking into a Boise zoo last year and killing a monkey was sentenced to seven years in prison on Thursday, court records show.

Michael Watkins, 22, of Weiser, Idaho, in March pleaded guilty to attempted grand theft, a felony, and misdemeanor animal cruelty stemming from the break-in and beating death of the monkey at Zoo Boise in November.

The primate was one of the zoo's two Patas monkeys, ground-dwelling animals from Africa that stand more than 2 feet tall and weigh about 35 pounds. They are rare in zoos but not endangered in the wild.

The case shook officials at the zoo and triggered an outpouring of sympathy and donations from animal lovers worldwide.

Watkins scaled the security fence at Zoo Boise in the pre-dawn hours of November 17 and attempted to steal the monkey, which bit him, police said. Watkins then kicked and hit the animal, severely wounding it, according to police. The monkey later died of blunt force trauma, zoo officials said.

Zoo Boise Director Steve Burns said on Thursday the sentencing of Watkins closed a particularly devastating chapter for the facility.

"We're moving on," he said. "The court has done its job and we're continuing to do our job."

In the days after the death, zoo staff sought to boost the spirits of the companion-less Patas monkey and considered shipping it to another zoo with primates since they are exceedingly social, Burns said.

Instead, Zoo Boise in December gained two female Patas monkeys donated by the Rosamund Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York.

News about the monkey's death brought donations from across the United States and overseas, allowing the zoo to begin construction on Monday of a $250,000 exhibit for the three Patas monkeys, Burns said.

(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Bill Trott)

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After 55 years, Easter Eggshelland of Ohio comes to an end

By Kim Palmer

CLEVELAND (Reuters)-after more than 50 years, loyal fans have one last opportunity to visit the Easter Bunny and other Easter-themed mosaics made of thousands of coloured eggs on a lawn in a suburb East of Cleveland.

The display drew thousands of visitors each year to the sprawling lawn of Betty and Ron M.taha in Lyndhurst, Ohio, but the 55th Annual event this year will be the last.

Eggshelland was created by Ron M.taha, 80, who died in August. This final view is dominated by a 16-foot by 15 foot portrait of a man who spent months digging every year and hand-painting anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 eggs. A message below the picture reads "thank you all and see you.

This year, children and grandchildren of M.taha set the 21,630 eggs in 24 colors in an exhibition entitled "a labor of love", in homage to their grandfather. Egg mosaics depict a 45-foot cross, an Easter Bunny and a EGGSHELLAND sign propped in front of the couple's House.

"Our kids did this all their life. Betty M.taha "they thought that everyone does this, told Reuters. But the months it takes to design and two or three weekends for installation are too to support his family.

Mosaic egg in past years are depicted characters of Sesame Street, Winnie the Pooh, Harry Potter and spring scenes.

M.Taha said that because her husband was the creative force behind the project, it would be too difficult to continue without him Eggshelland.

"Actually, I was amazed that we were doing for 55 years," he said. "If he (Ron) was still around I think we would do until we died. I'm going to lose next year. "

Others will miss Eggshelland too. A typical day, cars line up on their street and around the corner to see the display that began with a simple egg 750 saved during one year in 1957. At the peak of Eggshelland in the 1970s were called local police to direct traffic.

Local and national Media have described Eggshelland as a childhood fantasy land, but in truth this is adult enough followed including a website dedicated to its 55-year history and its creators (http://eggshellandeaster.tripod.com) and a 2004 award-winning documentary about their efforts.

Eggshelland will be until 5 April. After that, M.taha has not yet decided what will happen to eggs. Previously, have retained their eggs for the year and replaced those who had broken.

"We have not decided what to do with them. We got some calls, "said M.taha. "My grandchildren, of course, told me to put them on eBay."

(Edited by Jackie Frank)

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Wanted: Scammer who squatted in luxury homes for 5 years

Washington State case in which Jessica Carde allegedly squatted. (County Attorney's Office of the King)

A Seattle woman faces felony charges alleging she played the role of a victim of identity theft and squatted in luxury homes of several million dollars for five years.

Online journal that Seattle PI reports that 58-year-old Jessica Carde is still great while facing 12 felony counts by the Office of the King County Prosecutor.

How, exactly, did the job of his alleged scheme? According to Seattle PI, "Carde presented itself as a wealthy entrepreneur with a significant line of credit that was interested in purchasing a home. ... But when the time came to make a deposit, Carde claimed to have had his identity stolen before pushing towards a lease-purchase.

"Hire-purchase agreements — also known as rent to buy plans — will allow a prospective purchaser to make payments to the homeowner over time," the site has continued. "After it was paid the amount of money, the House is signed for the tenant."

The court documents describe Carde as engaging in "deceptive acts of retaliation against the homeowner to prevent or delay eviction.»

A 2010 survey from MSNBC found that "mansion squatters" have become a significant problem in many large cities in the United States, including Seattle. The problem is that with so many homes in foreclosure thanks to the economic crisis, property managers are often able to closely monitor the houses under their jurisdiction.

Carde, which reportedly presented falsified documents showing that she was prequalified for a mortgage, had fake business cards which contained a mouthful of presumed expertise. He described his professional duties as international speaker, trainer and consultant, personal/professional/executive life coach, neurobiofeedback technical specialist/brain wave, mediation specialist, health educator and instructor. "

Seattle Weekly Profile Cards dating back to May 2011 makes the story even more shocking.

The weekly reported that, according to the financial institutions Department researcher Steven Sherman, Carde presumably convinced some private lenders for giving her large sums of money that he used to "support his lifestyle and ... maintain the illusion that she was rich."

In some cases, Carde made instalments with the owners, but did so while planning falter on the actual amount owed.

And he got even more damaging: when the rightful owners attempted to evict Carde, she would make false accusations against them, filing police reports that accused them of threatening his life.

Worst of all, Carde may have risked the health of one of his victims. In 2010, she presented herself as "specialist" brain wave to one of its creditors, saying that she could provide medical care for the man, who had suffered a stroke.

"He said she (he) could cure with ' brain ' and convinced his wife ... to try," Sherman told the Court when the charges were filed the 11 March. "Carde placed electrodes on (his) head to ' jump the clot on."

Carde is accused of presenting false credit lines, squatting and then ducking out on his debts after being evicted more than a half-dozen times. Prosecutors hope to put it on a $ 150,000 bond, but they bring first elusive would-be-House authority.

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Amish sect Leader of Ohio sentenced to 15 years for attacks

A former NFL cheerleader is shoot the cyber bullies after supporters of a rival soccer team called her "ugly" and "an eyesore" on Facebook. Kaitlyn Collins of Eagle River, Wisconsin, who used to be a cheerleader, Green Bay Packers, posted a video response to YouTube ...

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