Etc...
You may get it back yet ...
When tornadoes blitzed northwestern Ohio Nov. 10, among the things they blew away were many years of bank statements and old photographs of sentimental value belonging to residents of Van Wert. Kiss those goodbye, right? Wrong. Many of them wound up in the yards of people 52 miles away in Napoleon, Ohio. And, since the items are of no particular interest to folks there, someone came up with the idea of collecting "anything that can be identified" and shipping it back to the owners. The project is being coordinated - at no charge - by the US Postal Service, Napoleon's newspaper, the Northwest Signal, and Van Wert's public schools.
Then there's Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating (R). He assumed the briefcase he lost on a 1989 plane trip was gone for good. Until, that is, it arrived in the mail earlier this month from a United Airlines security office with Christmas gifts for his mother-in-law still wrapped inside. She'll get them now for Thanksgiving. Said a United spokesman: "We're glad we got it back to him. Sorry it took 13 years."
WHAT: A website devoted to teaching online navigation skills, developed by The Children's Web Surfing Alliance, a nonprofit organization.
BEST POINTS: Cybersurfari players hunt for clues on "outpost" websites such as classbrain.com and discoveryschool.com. Once you find the hidden clues, enter your individual keycode to have it included on your treasure page.
Most clues are located on educational web pages. For example, Discoveryschool.com includes information about topics ranging from ancient Egyptian history to Benjamin Franklin.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: The site offers prizes including certificates, screensavers, and cash rewards. Prizes are rewarded based on the number of clues players find and how quickly they work. Students, families, and adults compete in separate categories.
The amount of information required to register varies by age. Children are asked only to provide a parent's e-mail address, while adult users must also include street addresses.
'It's not a game of hide-and-seek ... where the inspectors go in and see if they can find the stuff, and he sees if he can conceal it.'
- British Prime Minister Tony Blair, warning Iraq's Saddam Hussein to cooperate fully with UN search teams.
"Die Another Day," the new James Bond thriller, had a lively opening weekend at North American theaters, taking in $47 million in ticket sales. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" fell to second place as the lucrative holiday movie season gained speed. The top 10 films for Nov. 22-24, and how much each grossed (in millions), according to studio estimates:
1. "Die Another Day" $47.0
2. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" 42.4
3. "Friday After Next" 13.1
4. "The Santa Clause 2" 10.3
5. "8 Mile" 8.7
6. "The Ring" 7.6
7. "The Emperor's Club" 4.1
8. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" 3.8
9. "Half Past Dead" 3.3
10. "Frida" 2.4
- Reuters
