News In Brief

EMERGENCY IN AISLE 2!

Lately, employees at a boutique in Hot Springs, Ark., haven't seemed willing to do routine work like opening boxes. It's not that they're lazy; they're afraid they might run into a snake. Several have appeared from the Arkansas House of Reptiles next door, according to city officials. None were dangerous, an attorney for the snake store said, who added that the establishment has caulked up the building. Even so, the city has revoked its business permit. That's not the tail end of it, though: The issue is now pending in court.

WHAT A WALK

A carefully disguised robber in London might have gotten away with his crime, if it weren't for his bandy legs and rolling gait. At the trial for John Saunders, a podiatrist told the jury that less than 5 percent of the population had the same distinctive traits. So much for the masks and gloves the robber had donned.

'In My Life' by the Beatles is named best-written song

The new millennium has prompted all sorts of lists ranking "the greatest of all time." One of the latest such top 10s, for the music magazine Mojo, names the best-written songs to date. Twenty famous songwriters, including Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, and 1950s lyricist Jerry Leiber, participated in the survey. Their compiled results:

1. "In My Life," the Beatles

2. "(I Can't Get No) Satis-faction," Rolling Stones

3. "Over the Rainbow," Judy Garland

4. "Here, There and Everywhere," the Beatles

5. "Tracks of My Tears," Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

6. "The Times They Are A-Changin'," Bob Dylan

7. "Strange Fruit," Billie Holiday

8. "I Can't Make You Love Me," Bonnie Raitt

9. "People Get Ready," the Impressions

10. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin',"

the Righteous Brothers

- Associated Press

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