Random items of interest:

Julia Child Among Spies Revealed in Newly Released Federal Documents
WASHINGTON — Famed chef Julia Child shared a secret with Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg and Chicago White Sox catcher Moe Berg at a time when the Nazis threatened the world.


Buchenwald liberator, American hero dies at 83
(CNN) -- James Hoyt delivered mail in rural Iowa for more than 30 years. Yet Hoyt had long kept a secret from most of those who knew him best: He was one of the four U.S. soldiers to first see Germany's Buchenwald concentration camp.


Texas district will let teachers carry guns
HARROLD, Texas (AP) -- A tiny Texas school district will allow teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms to protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting employees follow certain requirements.


Cops: Heart-Transplant Teen Hatched Bizarre Murder Plot
STILLWATER, Minn. — A Woodbury teenager who underwent a heart transplant around five years ago has been accused of hatching a gruesome plot to murder a stranger at random.


Remains of children found in 'green Sahara'
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A tiny woman and two children were laid to rest on a bed of flowers 5,000 years ago in what is now the barren Sahara Desert.


Illegal water diverting is terrorism, says Rann
South Australian Premier Mike Rann says the diversion of water from the Paroo River in Queensland is an act of terrorism during a water crisis.


Mekong "100-year flood" threatens Indochina
BANGKOK, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Four people have been killed in flooding and landslides in Laos, where the Mekong river has hit its highest level in at least 100 years after several months of unusually heavy rain, officials said on Friday.


Torrential rain causes mass evacuations across Northern Ireland
Torrential rain caused widespread flooding across Northern Ireland last night, with drivers forced to abandon their cars as water levels rose to 15 feet.


Credit crunch, sewer tap county's finances
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Alabama's largest county appeared to be headed for the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, a $3.2 billion mess created by the nation's credit crunch and a colossal, corruption-riddled sewer project.


Panhandle hails unusual 'snowstorm'
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Severe thunderstorms knocked down power poles and dropped so much hail that it looked like winter had come early to part of the Panhandle, authorities said.