Etc...

OH, IT'S YOU AGAIN

It took four days, but the manager of a bakery in Mexico City finally figured out the modus operandi of a thief who robbed the place at knifepoint. Each time, the unwanted intruder showed up exactly at 8 a.m., demanding a chocolate cake and then making his escape. So when Day 5 arrived, the manager wasn't alone in waiting for him; so were the police. The culprit was as punctual as ever. But this time he left in handcuffs, and it was the cops who took the cake.

In Sapporo, Japan, a mother and her infant son were denied admission to a World Cup soccer game. She ended up having to watch it on a large-screen TV in a nearby town after dad had entered the stadium alone. Why? Because their little one had no ticket. But, the woman argued, she and her husband applied for their ducats so many months ago that the baby hadn't been born yet. That got her precisely nowhere. Said a tournament committee spokes-man, the policy is clear: If you don't have a ticket, you don't get in – "regardless of age."

Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., is the wealthiest town in the US, new figures from the Census Bureau show. In fact, four communities of 1,000 or more households in the Golden State rated among the nation's richest. The top 10, according to the 2000 Census, with their average income per capita:

1. Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. $113,132
2. Atherton, Calif. 112,408
3. Palm Beach, Fla. 109,219
4. Bloomfield Hills, Mich. 104,920
5. Belle Meade, Tenn. 104,908
6. Woodside, Calif. 104,667
7. Indian River Shores, Fla. 102,511
8. North Hills, N.Y. 100,093
9. Cherry Hills Village, Colo. 99,996
10. Portola Valley, Calif. 99,621
– Associated Press