GOWN-WEARING MINN. FIREFIGHTERS TACKLE TRUCK BLAZE: SEDAN, Minn. (AP) — Talk about hot fashion.
A couple of Minnesota volunteer firefighters wore flouncy long dresses with spaghetti straps as they fought a truck fire.
The men and other members of the Sedan (see-DAN') Fire Department were on a float wearing gowns, wigs, long gloves and jewelry on Saturday as they waited for a St. Patrick's Day parade to start in Padua. They were dressed to promote the fire department's annual "beauty pageant" fundraiser this summer.
Just before the parade was to begin, someone shouted fire. Ben Terhaar and Ted Aubart jumped off the float and into the firetruck lined up for the parade.
Video shows the two spraying water on the smoking pickup. One of the firefighters pulls up a shoulder strap as he runs.
HUMAN FETUSES FOUND IN LUGGAGE AT MIAMI AIRPORT: MIAMI (AP) — Authorities say customs agents at Miami International Airport found two human fetuses in luggage coming from Cuba.
A Miami-Dade police spokesman said Thursday that the fetuses were found Jan. 30 in the luggage of two Cuban-American women returning from Havana.
Police say customs agents spotted one fetus when they X-rayed a clay jar and found the second when they opened the jar. One was male and one was female.
A medical examiner determined both fetuses were about 20 weeks and both had been still born. No foul play was suspected.
OCCUPY OAKLAND SETS UP NEW ENCAMPMENT IN PARK: OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Occupy Oakland protesters have set up a new campsite.
About a dozen people in six tents spent Wednesday night in Mosswood Park, located a little more than a mile from City Hall.
The protesters say their new encampment is in response to Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York City commemorating the six-month anniversary of the movement.
Occupy Oakland member Melvin Kelley says the group is also protesting the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen, by a neighborhood watch captain in a gated community in Florida.
Kelley told the newspaper that the park would serve as the group's new site until they retake Frank Ogawa Plaza downtown in which they occupied last year.
RON PAUL MORE ELECTABLE THAN MITT ROMNEY IN LATEST POLL: Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul polls better against President Barack Obama in a head-to-head matchup than establishment-choice moderate Mitt Romney, according to a recent survey conducted by Public Policy Polling.
The poll found that Obama defeats Romney by 4 percentage points (48-44) and Newt Gingrich by 8 percent (50-42). While Santorum also joins Paul being within striking distance of the President by 3 points (48-45 and 46-43 respectively), Paul brings Obama a noticeable 2 percentage points further away from the 50 percent a candidate seeks to win on election day. Considering the +/- 3.3-percentage point margin of error, Paul in this poll is statistically tied for the presidency.
Reinforcing the electability case for Paul is that he ties Obama among independent voters, while Romney loses the largest voting segment by 6 percent, Santorum by 8 percent, and Gingrich by 15 percent – a cause for concern whether Paul’s three rivals would even be competitive come November.
ROMNEY TO LOOK FOR LAUGHS, AND VOTES, ON LENO SHOW: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mitt Romney has been a target of Jay Leno jokes, and now he'll get the chance to give the late-night comedian a few jabs in return.
NBC announced Thursday that the Republican presidential candidate will be the lead guest on the "Tonight Show" on Tuesday. It's the former Massachusetts governor's first visit to Leno's stage during the 2012 presidential season.
Over the years, Leno has riffed about the candidate's wealth — Romney is a multimillionaire — and poked him on his restrained — some say stiff — demeanor.
