Associated Press - February 18, 2009 5:33 AM ET
OBAMA-SHOE
PHOENIX (AP) - President Barack Obama might be the big man in Washington. But he doesn't measure-up to Shaq -- at least when it comes to shoe-size. The president got a special gift when he arrived in Phoenix yesterday afternoon -- a size 23 sneaker personally autographed by Shaquille O'Neal. The shoe was given to the president as he stepped off Air Force One. The orange & white sneaker made a big impression on the nation's basketball fan-in-chief. Obama grinned as the photographers shot pictures of the president comparing his own shoe to Shaq's super-sneak.
WOOD POWER
BERLIN, N.H. (AP) - Money doesn't grow trees. It grows in Washington. Now, a small New Hampshire city hopes to get some of the economic stimulus money for their trees. Berlin has seen its fortune sink with the decline of the local paper industry. But boosters are pitching Berlin as the perfect site to show how wood could be burned to generate power. Some in town don't like the idea of a wood-burning power plant, even with Uncle Sam picking up the tab. The owner of a local flower shop would rather have a casino or grand hotel in Berlin.
KIDS EAT FREE
LAKEWOOD, N.J. (AP) - Minor league baseball tickets could be a tough sell in this slumping economy. But the top two New Jersey minor league teams are offering a tasty promotion to young fans -- free hot dogs. The hot dogs will be on the house at every home game this season for the Lakewood BlueClaws and the Trenton Thunder. Kids 12 and under get a free frank, a bag of potato chips and a soda. Officials of the teams say the kids eat free promotion is going to help families during these tough times.
HIDDEN ROOM
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) - Carl Thoms has a hidden extra in his home -- a secret room. Thoms is renovating 120-year-old house in Terre Haute, Ind. A friend doing plumbing work found something unexpected in the basement. It's a tiled room that might have once been entered via a hidden trap door in the bedroom. Thoms isn't sure who installed the hidden room or why. But he thinks it might have been used for bootlegging during Prohibition. He says it's really cool to find something like that. Now, he intends to do more research on the history of his house.
STARBUCKS-INSTANT COFFEE
NEW YORK (AP) - Something new is brewing for Starbucks -- instant coffee. The java chain started offering its new instant product online yesterday. Next month, packets of Via will be sold at Starbucks' Seattle and Chicago stores. A national roll-out is planned for the fall. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz promises it's "not your mother's instant coffee." But critics say offering instant joe is a desperate move as Starbucks' sales slump. Via will sell for about three bucks for three packets or around $10 for a dozen.
INDIA-SNAKE CHARMERS
CALCUTTA, India (AP) - What's a snake-charmer without his snake? Mad. Nearly 1,000 snake charmers protested in eastern India yesterday. They were playing their flutes as they marched through the streets demanding the right to perform with live snakes. Shows featuring cobras and other live snakes have been officially banned in India since 1991. But many charmers still practice their art for tourists. The snake charmers charge their traditional way of life is being threatened. But animal rights activists say snaking charming is cruel to the creatures.
by Jamie Friar
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