The Craziest News Updates Around the World

Ida brushes past Mexico, watch issued for US coast

2009-11-08T11:01:00.000-08:00

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET (AP)

CANCUN, Mexico — Hurricane Ida swiped the resort city of Cancun on Sunday with bands of wind and rain as it steamed north toward the Gulf of Mexico, where officials issued a hurricane watch for coastal Louisiana and Mississippi.

Gusts of wind whipped palm trees and fishermen pulled their boats in and tied them down along Mexico's Caribbean coast as rain and strong waves moved ashore in Cancun and neighboring Puerto Juarez. Tourists, meanwhile, tried to continue vacationing as usual despite the Category 1 storm.

"I figure probably in a couple hours we'll be stuck inside," said Julie Randolph, 40, a social worker from Ormand Beach, Florida, who braved the rain to jog along the near-empty beach.

Randolph said she was monitoring Ida's progress on her iPhone. "I'm always concerned about storms, but I feel comfortable and safe in my surroundings," she said. "We would have left if we felt threatened. We still can leave now."

The Cancun airport was still open and there were no plans to close it, according to airport spokesman Eduardo Rivadeneira.

As winds picked up and intermittent rains intensified Sunday morning, restaurants and nightclubs near the waterfront began covering their windows with large pieces of plywood.

Officials said the worst of the storm would likely hit Cancun around midday. They advised residents to stay inside and avoid putting their trash out on the streets.

"Right now it is very, very calm," Civil Defense director Ruben Avalos Gutierrez said. "The phenomenon is going to be very close. We will get rain and wind gusts."

Ida had winds of about 90 mph (150 kph). The storm was passing about 60 miles (100 kilometers) offshore from Cancun, and 85 miles (135 kilometers) southwest of Cuba.

It was moving northwest at about 12 mph (19 kph) on a projected path that could have it arriving at the U.S. Gulf coast around Tuesday.

Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, said Ida could become a Category 2 hurricane late Sunday.

It is expected to interact with a weakening cold front over open seas and will most likely be a tropical storm or perhaps a low-level hurricane when it gets to the Gulf Coast, said Jack Beven, a hurricane specialist at the center.

But when that will happen isn't entirely clear, he said, which prompted officials to issue a hurricane watch for the coastline from Grand Isla, Louisiana, to the Mississippi-Alabama state line. The watch means hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours.

Parts of the Yucatan Peninsula remained under a hurricane warning, and a tropical storm warning was in place for the western tip of Cuba with heavy rains expected.

In El Salvador, Interior Minister Humberto Centeno reported 40 dead from flooding following three days of heavy rains that may be indirectly tied to Ida.

Dave Roberts, a Navy hurricane specialist at the hurricane center, said Ida's presence in the Caribbean may have played a role in drawing the Pacific low pressure system toward El Salvador, causing those rains.

However, he said, "if there were deaths associated with this rainfall amount in El Salvador, I would not link it to Ida."

Hurricane Ida passed through neighboring Nicaragua on Thursday, damaging or destroying about 500 homes, as well as roads, bridges and public buildings.

101 ways to get kicked out of WalMart

2009-11-07T10:48:00.000-08:00

November 07: 101 ways to get kicked out of WalMart. There are ongoing forums that are so funny to follow, really. One has this topic "101 ways to get kicked out of WalMart." If you read what people posted, you can't help but laugh. People always make fun of the giant WalMart.
Few I found:

- Walk in wearing a chicken costume and harass people

- Jump into someones cart and scream push me push me!

- Play tag in the store- Put condoms in random shopping carts.

- Yell in the loud speaker " All the produce, dairy items, and any edible snacks and food have rat poop in it. Go to Target instead!

- Hide in the clothes rack and jump out and scare people

- Pee in the fish tanks

- When someone asks if you need help, begin to cry and ask, "Why won't you people just leave me alone?"

- When an announcement comes over the loudspeaker, assume the fetal position and scream, "No, no! It's those voices again!"

- While no one's watching quickly switch the men's and women's signs on the doors of the rest room.

- Get a stuffed animal and go to the front of the store and begin stroking it lovingly, saying "Good girl, good Bessie."

Now what ways do have in mind that will kick you out of Walmart?
Contribute please!

Details on Friday’s Yankee Parade and Ceremony

2009-11-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

By Liz Robbins

Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times The last time the Yankees had a World Series victory parade, in 2000, Orlando Hernandez spoke, Joe Torre was the manager and George Steinbrenner was on hand to share in the celebration.

The Yankees return to the Canyon of Heroes for the first time since 2000 on Friday morning, when they will float up Broadway in a ticker-tape parade and share their 27th World Series victory with fans in Lower Manhattan.

The parade starts at 11 a.m. at Battery Park Place and will proceed north on Broadway to Chambers Street. The parade should end at 1 p.m. at City Hall Park, where Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will give the Yankees the keys to the city.

There are 500 tickets available for public seating at the ceremony.

From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. today, fans can apply for the tickets, the mayor’s office announced. There three ways to enter the random drawing: call 311, log on to the parade Web site or access the form through the Mayor’s office Twitter page.

Fans can enter only once and request two tickets; they must provide their name, e-mail address and phone number.

Winners of the ticket giveaway will be notified when and where to pick up their tickets; they must present photo identification and be screened by security. According to the mayor’s office, those selected to attend the ceremony will likely not be able to attend the parade because they must arrive early to be seated in City Hall Plaza.

The mayor’s office isn’t the only group giving away tickets. City Council members and other elected officials, as well as community organizations that work the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit, will also distribute some tickets.

Duggars keep breeding, grandchild Mackynzie Renee Duggar born to Josh and Anna

2009-10-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

Oldest Duggar son Josh and wife Anna added the first arrow to their quiver officially last night, with the arrival of Mackynzie Renee Duggar.

Mackynzie was born late Thursday, weighing 8 lbs, 0 oz. Lucky Anna gets to have the whole TLC viewing population watch the childbirth ordeal on the latest installment of 18 Kids and Counting, entitled First Grandduggar. The baby was born at home with the assistance of a doula, a midwife and mother-in-law Michelle Duggar, who is expecting her 19th child next year. Awkward!

New baby Mackynzie can expect to be joined by her younger aunt or uncle next spring
http://www.inquisitr.com

Marge Simpson to Be Playboy's November Cover Girl

2009-10-09T17:12:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe, but here it is: Marge Simpson, with the blue beehive hairdo and everything, is about to grace the cover of Playboy magazine. What can you say except, "D'oh!"

While Marge Simpson Playboy pics may not be the type of thing to stir your juices, the magazine hopes it will stir your wallet. Playboy's November issue will feature America's best-known cartoon mom in celebration of the 20th year of The Simpsons, TV's longest running comedy.

This issue will be the first to feature a cartoon character. One might have thought Betty Boop might have made it, but no, Marge Simpson's Playboy pics are the first ones that won't require a camera.

It's not just a cover shoot either. Playboy promises an interview ("The Devil in Marge Simpson"), a data sheet, and yes, more Marge Simpson Playboy pics, including a 2-page centerfold.

The November issue of Playboy, Marge Simpson Playboy pics and all, will hit newsstands on October 16. One has to wonder if Homer will take a copy into his office at Springfield's nuclear plant.

http://www.huliq.com