NEWSQUIRKS
When condoms aren’t enough Laptop computers with WiFi can damage DNA and decrease sperm motility after only four hours’ exposure, according to a study by the American Society for Reproduction, which blames microwave radiation. The findings prompted Conrado Avendano, research director at the Nascentis Reproduction Medical Center, to warn men trying to have children not to work with a WiFienabled laptop near their lap and instead connect to the Internet with cables. (Denver’s KUSA-TV)
Judge Judy justice A debt-collection agency set up a room in its office in Erie, Pa., to look like a courtroom, complete with a raised area where a judge would sit, attorney’s tables and legal books on bookshelves, according to Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. The agency’s lawsuit charges that Unicredit Debt Resolution Center used people dressed as sheriff’s deputies to summon consumers to “the courtroom,” where a person dressed in black would preside over fake proceedings “to deceive, mislead or frighten consumers into making payments or surrendering valuables to Unicredit.” The lawsuit is seeking restitution for victimized consumers. (Associated Press)
To tell the truth Leon Murray, 25, told police in Boynton Beach, Fla., that two men pistol-whipped him at an automated teller machine and stole $400 cash, his bank card and his .45caliber handgun. When police questioned him, Murray admitted making up the robbery story, explaining he owed his mother $400 and needed an excuse because he didn’t have the money. (Southwest Florida’s Sun Sentinel) Washington State Patrol criminal records manager Heather Anderson was arriving for work in Olympia, Wash., when she noticed a book on the seat of a parked car about “how to beat the lie detector.” She called Human Resources to see if any job applicants were taking a polygraph test. One was. Authorities matched the candidate to the car and promptly rejected him. Past misdemeanors don’t automatically disqualify job applicants, patrol official Dan Coon said, but lying does. (Associated Press)
Ye of little faith James Solakian, a shareholder of Bible.com Inc., sued the company’s board members, accusing the ordained ministers of failing to profit from the corporation’s Internet property. The website features ads and a verse of the day, and offers links for biblical answers to questions on voting and masturbation. Citing the company’s business plan, which states “it is the goal of the board of directors of Bible.com to become very, very profitable,” Solakian’s suit claims the directors refused to run the company in a profitable way or sell the site, which he described as a “gold mine.” The suit notes a valuation by a potential purchaser that estimated bible.com could be worth more than dictionary.com, whose recent sale topped $100 million. (Reuters)
Compiled from the nation’s press by Roland Sweet. Authentication on demand.
