HOT TUB INSTALLATION ON CAMPUS ROOF A MYSTERY: ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Officials are puzzled over a mysterious hot tub that was installed — and then removed — from the roof of a building on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor.
But a group of "creative" students are believed to be the culprits, Computer Science and Engineering building spokesman Steven Crang told
Initially reported by the Michigan Daily campus newspaper, the hot tub first was noticed Saturday, had visitors and was gone by Monday night.
UTAH BILL: 2 LIQUOR COMMISSIONERS MUST BE DRINKERS: SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah lawmakers passed a bill out of committee on Friday mandating that at least two members of the state's liquor commission be consumers of alcohol, a requirement that's designed to provide a stronger voice for responsible adult drinkers in a state dominated by teetotaling Mormons.
Approximately 70 percent of Utah residents are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which prohibits its members to drink alcohol. There are five members of the liquor commission, which manages the state-run liquor business and implements Utah's tight alcohol restrictions.
"When a government is immersed in something, as it is in alcohol, it should have a voice from those who are being regulated," said Rep. Brian Doughty, D-Salt Lake City, the sponsor of House Bill 193.
The state's tourism industry has frequently complained that Utah's liquor laws send lucrative conventions and skiers fleeing to neighboring Colorado.
DAD SAYS OSCAR-NOMINATED FILM GLORIFIES CONVICTS: LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Todd Moore isn't sure whether he'll watch the Oscars this weekend, when a documentary about the murder of his son and two other Cub Scouts could win an Academy Award.
Moore and his ex-wife, Diana, believe "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory" glorifies the three men convicted in the Arkansas' boys' deaths and asked the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to bar it from consideration for an Oscar. The academy refused, saying the film met the basic eligibility requirements and was being viewed and evaluated by members.
"It would not be possible for the Academy — its leadership, executives, or administration — to insert itself into this process without risking the integrity of this longstanding procedure and of the awards themselves," wrote Rob Epstein, who chairs the Documentary Branch Executive Committee, in the letter dated Dec. 13. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter this week.
POLICE SAY OHIO MOM INJECTED TEEN KIDS WITH HEROIN: LAURELVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say an Ohio mother has been arrested on charges accusing her of injecting her teenage children with heroin before sending them to school.
The Hocking County Sheriff's Office says 35-year-old Shantel Parker, of Laurelville, was arrested Friday at Ohio State University hospital on warrants charging her with two counts each of felonious assault, corrupting another with drugs and endangering children.
Investigators say Parker has been providing heroin and other drugs to her children, ages 14 and 16, for several months.
COLO. WOMAN CONVICTED IN TOW TRUCK DRIVER'S DEATH: COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — A woman was convicted Friday of vehicular homicide and other charges in the death of a tow truck driver who was dragged more than a mile by her vehicle.
Detra Farries, 33, showed little emotion as she learned the jury convicted her of all 11 counts she was facing, including manslaughter and leaving the scene of a deadly accident.
Prosecutors said that Farries drove away as Allen Lew Rose, 35, was preparing to tow her illegally parked SUV on Feb. 23, 2011, in Colorado Springs. He died after getting caught in a cable he had attached to her vehicle.
