Throwing Your Baby In The Dumpster Is Wrong

A Plane Crash Filmed from Inside the Plane | Video

Look very scary.

Pair Brings Corpse to Store to Cash Check

Two men wheeled a dead man through the streets in an office chair to a check-cashing store and tried to cash his Social Security check before being arrested on fraud charges, police said.

David J. Dalaia and James O'Hare pushed Virgilio Cintron's body from the Manhattan apartment that O'Hare and Cintron shared to Pay-O-Matic, about a block away, spokesman Paul Browne said witnesses told police.

"The witnesses saw the two pushing the chair with Cintron flopping from side to side and the two individuals propping him up and keeping him from flopping from side to side," Browne said.

The men left Cintron's body outside the store, went inside and tried to cash his $355 check, Browne said. The store's clerk, who knew Cintron, asked the men where he was, and O'Hare told the clerk they would go and get him, Browne said.

A police detective who was having lunch at a restaurant next to the check-cashing store noticed a crowd forming around Cintron's body, and "it's immediately apparent to him that Cintron is dead," Browne said.

The detective called uniformed New York Police Department officers at a nearby precinct. Emergency medical technicians arrived as O'Hare and Dalaia were preparing to wheel Cintron's body into the check-cashing store, Browne said. Police arrested Dalaia and O'Hare there, he said.

Cintron's body was taken to a hospital morgue. The medical examiner's office told police it appeared Cintron, 66, had died of natural causes within the previous 24 hours, Browne said.

"He was deceased in the apartment when he was removed by these two," Browne said.

Dalaia and O'Hare, both 65, were being held by police and faced check fraud charges, Browne said.

A call to a telephone number listed for Cintron at the apartment he shared with O'Hare went unanswered Tuesday evening. Police said they didn't have an address for Dalaia or attorney information for him or O'Hare.

Aussie teen blames pot for animal thefts

Darwin, (Australia), January 9: An Australian teenager blamed the influence of marijuana for his decision to steal two crocodiles and a monkey, local media reported Wednesday.

Benjamin Glen Watts, 19, pleaded guilty in court Tuesday to twice breaking into a wildlife park on the outskirts of the tropical city of Darwin last July, Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio reported on its Web site.

Watts said he planned to sell the stolen baby crocodiles and the marmoset but had been unable to find buyers, ABC reported.

Crocodylus Park spokesman Grahame Webb said Wednesday the animals were returned unharmed.

Watts' lawyer told the court his client admitted it was a 'dumb stoner' thing to do and had written to Crocodylus Park to apologise.

Magistrate Greg Cavanagh sentenced Watts to a three-month suspended jail sentence. Watts has been counseled for his marijuana use since the thefts.

A court official was not immediately available for comment.

Japanese new-borns visit relatives as rice bags

Tokyo, January 8: New-born babies in Japan who can't make it round to visit all their relatives can now send them proxies instead - cuddly bags of rice.

A small rice shop in Fukuoka, southern Japan, has been swamped with orders for 'Dakigokochi' rice-filled bags shaped like a bundled baby and printed with the new-born's face and name.

Each rice bag is tailor-made to weigh as much as the new-born and shaped so the rice fills the bag up. Holding the round-edged bag would feel like holding a real baby.

"Other rice shops sell bags printed with baby photos, but they use regular bags. People say they aren't good for holding," said Naruo Ono, owner of the rice shop, Yoshimiya.

"Rice for small babies would be stuck at the bottom of the bag, and the baby's photo would be scrunched at the top."

It is customary in Japan to give people gifts or money on occasions such as births, and the recipient then responds with other gifts, often worth half the amount they received.

The rice bags have made perfect 'half-return' gifts, Ono said, although relatives face a dilemma once they are done with the cuddling.

"People say they have a hard time opening them up and eating the rice," Ono said.

South Korean warehouse fire kills 40

SEOUL, South Korea - Fire tore through a refrigeration warehouse under construction in an industrial district south of the capital today, killing 40 people and sending toxic fumes into the air, officials said.

Kim Jung-geun, a local fire official, said no more bodies were expected to be found at the site of the blaze in Icheon about 50 miles south of Seoul.

He said the exact cause of the morning fire was not known, but that workers were injecting urethane foam into basement walls when the fire started.

Kim said explosions heard around the time of the fire were caused by the blaze itself. He also said only one body had been positively identified so far, because the corpses were so badly burned.

Ha Jae-ho, a fire investigator, told YTN that firefighters and rescue officials were searching the wreckage carefully because they feared the building might collapse.

Cable news channel YTN showed black-clad firefighters battling thick black, brown and white smoke, some of it spewing from underground.

An official at Korea 2000, a logistics company that owns the facility, said the building was under construction and was intended for refrigeration purposes.

The official said workers were applying the final touches when the fire broke out. The official requested anonymity, saying company rules prohibit employees from speaking to the media.

Icheon, a crossroads for South Korea's largest highways, is home to Hynix Semiconductor, the world's second-largest manufacture of computer memory chips.

Monkeys 'Pay' for Sex by Grooming

SINGAPORE (Jan. 6) - Male macaque monkeys pay for sex by grooming females, according to a recent study that suggests the primates may treat sex as a commodity.

"In primate societies, grooming is the underlying fabric of it all," Dr. Michael Gumert, a primatologist at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said in a telephone interview Saturday.

Japanese Macaque monkeys groom each other at Jigokudani Wild Monkey Park in Yamanouchi, Japan.

"It's a sign of friendship and family, and it's also something that can be exchanged for sexual services," Gumert said.

Gumert's findings, reported in New Scientist last week, resulted from a 20-month observation of about 50 long-tailed macaques in a reserve in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Gumert found after a male grooms a female, the likelihood that she will engage in sexual activity with the male was about three times more than if the grooming had not occurred.

And as with other commodities, the value of sex is affected by supply and demand factors: A male would spend more time grooming a female if there were fewer females in the vicinity.

"And when the female supply is higher, the male spends less time on grooming ... The mating actually becomes cheaper depending on the market," Gumert said.

Other experts not involved in the study welcomed Gumert's research, saying it was a major effort in systematically studying the interaction of organisms in ways in which an exchange of commodities or services can be observed - a theory known as biological markets.

Dr. Peter Hammerstein, a professor at the Institute for Theoretical Biology at Humboldt University in Berlin and Dr. Ronald Noe, a primatologist at the University of Louis-Pasteur in Strasbourg, France, first proposed the concept of biological markets in 1994.

"It is not a rare phenomenon in nature that males have to make some 'mating effort' in order to get a female's 'permission' to mate," Hammerstein said in an interview, likening the effort to a "fee" that the male pays.

"The interesting result of Dr. Gumert's research on macaque mating is that the mating market seems to have an influence on the amount of this fee," Hammerstein said.

Hammserstein said Gumert's findings indicate the monkeys are capable of adjusting their behavior to "different market conditions."

Gumert completed his fieldwork in February 2005 and first published his findings in the November issue of "Animal Behaviour," a scientific monthly journal.

Oklahoma City mayor puts city on a diet

OKLAHOMA CITY - With a button-popping spread of cornbread, sausage and gravy, chicken fried steak and pecan pie designated as Oklahoma's official state meal, it's no surprise that Oklahoma City's mayor wants to put the city on a diet. Mick Cornett has challenged the city to shed 1 million pounds as its New Year's resolution.

Prompted in part by his own struggle to lose weight, Cornett wants to end Oklahoma City's dubious distinction as one of America's fattest cities.

"The message of this obesity initiative is that we've got to watch what we eat," Cornett said Thursday. "Exercise is part of it and the city is trying to change into a city that is less sprawling, has more density and is more pedestrian friendly, but you're not really going to take on obesity unless you acknowledge that we eat too much and don't eat the right foods."

As part of the initiative, residents can sign up and track their weight loss on a new Web site, http://www.thiscityisgoingonadiet.com. More than 2,600 people had registered by Thursday. They've lost more than 300 pounds.

Besides a body mass index calculator, the site includes recipes and links to metro-area fitness centers. Plans call for expanding the site to include the opportunity to blog and network with other participants, Cornett said.

"It's always easier if you're doing something hard if you have other people to do it with," he said.

The mayor timed the start of the weight-loss program to the beginning of the new year, when many people begin exercise programs after holiday feasts.

Oklahoma City ranked 15th in a 2007 survey of America's fattest cities conducted by Men's Fitness magazine. The survey examined lifestyle factors in each city, including fast-food restaurants per capita and availability of city parks, gyms and bike paths.

"I can't tell you exactly where you rank in our 2008 survey, but I can tell you that Oklahoma City is in the top 10," magazine spokeswoman Jennifer Krosche said. "That's not good."

The Oklahoma Legislature designated an official state meal in 1988. The menu also includes fried okra, squash, barbecue pork, biscuits, grits, corn, strawberries and black-eyed peas.

Cornett, 49, stands about 5-foot-10 and weighs 183 pounds. He began a personal fitness initiative eight months ago when he weighed 217 pounds.

"I would like to get down to 175, so I've made a goal to lose 8 pounds over 8 weeks," he said.

Carrie Snyder-Renfro, a 44-year-old teacher working out at a fitness center Thursday, said she made a resolution last month to eat healthier and exercise. While she was unaware of the mayor's Web site, she said she would consider signing up.

"Last year I dieted and lost about 10 pounds a month for three months, but I left out a key component," she said, huffing and puffing on an elliptical machine. "I didn't exercise regularly. I ended up losing muscle mass instead of fat, and I ended up gaining almost all of it back.

"Now I'm making it more of a priority to put everything in balance. I have to get the eye of the tiger back."

Cornett wants to make exercise more attractive to residents by increasing the number of bike trails and sidewalks in the sprawling city, where public transportation is minimal, most people are wedded to their cars and outdoor activities for some might be limited to watching a football game.

"In Colorado, you ski, you climb, you run ... something," said Karen Massey, community nutrition coordinator at Integris Baptist Medical Center. "In Oklahoma, we're either involved in competitive sports or we do nothing. We're spectators."

Live like a monk to avoid cancer

A Living like a monk may have more than spiritual benefits, with a recent study into one of the world's most isolated monastic communities in Greece revealing that such dietary and healthy living habits resulted in lower cancer rates.

The dietary and lifestyle habits of monks on the all-male community in Mount Athos have shown that the regular consumption of olive oil, daily portions of fish, seasonal fruit and vegetables are among the main contributors towards keeping prostate cancer below international averages, data presented by urologist Haralambos Aidonopoulos showed.

'It is not just the Mediterranean diet that helps but generally a diet consisting of old, traditional standards,' Aidonopoulos told DPA.

Aidonopoulos said he had examined hundreds of monks living on Mount Athos since 1994 and found that the incidence of prostate cancer was four times lower than the international average.

The study found that in the last 13 years, there had been 11 reported cases of prostate cancer among the more than 1,500 monks living in the 20 different monasteries in the segregated community in northwest Greece from which women are banned.

Other factors in the same study shown to keep prostate cancer at bay were the stress-free existence of the monks away from women, proper sleep patterns and the lack of air pollution.

The lifestyle habits and traditions of the various monasteries on the peninsula, which the Prince of Wales visits regularly and which are only accessible by boat, have not changed in 1,000 years.

Meals on Mount Athos are simple and do not contain meat, but fish is a regular fare on holidays and feast days such as Christmas and Easter.

The staple foods are bread, olives, vegetables, rice, pasta, soya dishes and fruit. In fact, the monks grow much of what they consume themselves.

Monks usually indulge in a glass of red wine, which is made locally from mountain grapes, with their dinner but on fast days - Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - they abstain from wine, olive oil and dairy products altogether.

Many of the monastic communities on Mount Athos eat twice a day, and have bread and tea for breakfast and a supper of lentils, salad and fruit, except during the rigorous fasting periods of the Orthodox Church, when some will eat only at midday.

The average day begins with an hour of prayers before dawn and meal times are conducted in silence while one of the monks usually reads a passage from the Bible. The monks normally have to eat at great speed because once the reading is over the meal is officially completed.

The rest of the day is spent doing chores such as cleaning, tending to crops and cooking followed by evening prayers.

Six-year-old Indian boy eyes 100-car 'limbo-skate'

A six-year-old Indian boy, Aniket Chindak is hoping to enter the record books after 'limbo-skating' under 57 cars in less than a minute.

Aniket has already created an unofficial world record by squeezing himself under a row of 57 four-wheel drive cars in 45 seconds.

With legs split, chest bent forward and chin almost skimming along the road, Aniket is no more than eight inches above the ground when he vanishes under the vehicles in Belgaum, India.

The wonder-kid, who started skating when he was 18-months-old, is now training for four hours a day and plans to break his world record of 57 cars with a 100-car skate in New Delhi.

"I first saw a girl skate under a car on television two years ago and decided to learn how to do it myself. It took three months before I could get my body in the right position," the Daily Record quoted Aniket, as saying."Since then, I have skated under lots of cars and have never hurt myself.

"The hardest thing is to go fast enough before I bend down because that's how you can skate under so many cars at once. I think it will be very difficult for anyone to beat 100 cars," he added.

According to his father, Ramesh, the skating marvel covers 60-miles twice a week in practice and sulks when he is told to finish.

"Aniket was always very flexible but for limbo-skating you need strength as well," Ramesh said. "It took him a while to condition his body to hold the correct position. Now his battle is to get the speed and control for 100 cars.

"He wants to set a world record no one can beat for a long time," he added.

Six-year-old Indian boy eyes 100-car 'limbo-skate'

London, January 3 : A six-year-old Indian boy, Aniket Chindak is hoping to enter the record books after 'limbo-skating' under 57 cars in less than a minute.

Aniket has already created an unofficial world record by squeezing himself under a row of 57 four-wheel drive cars in 45 seconds.

With legs split, chest bent forward and chin almost skimming along the road, Aniket is no more than eight inches above the ground when he vanishes under the vehicles in Belgaum, India.

The wonder-kid, who started skating when he was 18-months-old, is now training for four hours a day and plans to break his world record of 57 cars with a 100-car skate in New Delhi.

"I first saw a girl skate under a car on television two years ago and decided to learn how to do it myself. It took three months before I could get my body in the right position," the Daily Record quoted Aniket, as saying."Since then, I have skated under lots of cars and have never hurt myself.

"The hardest thing is to go fast enough before I bend down because that's how you can skate under so many cars at once. I think it will be very difficult for anyone to beat 100 cars," he added.

According to his father, Ramesh, the skating marvel covers 60-miles twice a week in practice and sulks when he is told to finish.

"Aniket was always very flexible but for limbo-skating you need strength as well," Ramesh said. "It took him a while to condition his body to hold the correct position. Now his battle is to get the speed and control for 100 cars.

Mother and daughter give birth four days apart

London, Decemeber 31 : A mother and daughter have given birth to two beautiful babies - just four days apart.

Amanda Nesling, 41, delivered a 2lb baby boy Curtis Leeroy William White seven weeks early.

And days later, Nesling's 18-year-old daughter Natasha gave birth to Brooke-Ellie.

"We were both surprised at one another's pregnancy and that they would be so close together," the Mirror quoted Natasha, as saying.

Nesling's son, who was due in January, is in a special care baby unit until February.

Five High-Paying Careers in Two Years or Less

Feel like the absence of a bachelor's degree on your resume is forcing you to settle for a second-rate job? With today's myriad opportunities to earn certificates and associate degrees, you can change your career, your salary, and your life in just a short amount of time.

Check out these five high-paying careers -- no bachelor's degree required!

1. Dental Hygienist

Employment of dental hygienists is projected to grow much faster than average for all occupations through 2014, ranking among the Bureau of Labor Statistics' list of fastest-growing occupations.

To practice in a dental office, hygienists must earn an associate degree or certificate from a school accredited by the American Dental Association Commission of Dental Accreditation. A base of biology, chemistry, and math courses are advised, and program coursework will include clinical, laboratory, and classroom instruction.

Median annual earnings: $58,350.

2. Fashion Designer

In this creative field, an inherent artistic ability and eye for detail, color, balance, and proportion are necessary. Ingenuity is key, as are sewing, pattern-making, and sketching abilities.

Designers usually hold at least a two-year associate degree in fashion design or fine arts. They must be knowledgeable about textiles, ornamentation, fabrics, and fashion trends, and exhibit communication and presentation skills, problem-solving abilities, and the willingness to work occasional long hours and travel to trade and fashion shows.

Median annual earnings: $55,840.

3. Diagnostic Medical Sonographer

Also known as ultrasonographers, diagnostic medical sonographers can specialize in obstetrics and gynecology, abdominal or breast sonography, or neurosonography.

A strong background in math and science is recommended, as associate degree coursework will include anatomy, physics, and physiology. A good bedside manner enables the sonographer to explain complex procedures to patients and reassure those who fear the health matters the testing may reveal.

Median annual earnings: $52,490.

4. Forensic Science Technician

You've seen the TV shows -- these professionals collect and analyze physical evidence and document laboratory methods and findings. Computer skills and attention to detail are crucial as collection and processing of materials must be spot-on to safeguard evidence.

Forensic science technicians should develop a strong base in math and science as preparation for their associate degree, typically earned in applied science or science-related technology. Coursework will include laboratory work and hands-on learning. Once in the field, technicians can choose to specialize in a certain type of analysis or examination.

Median annual earnings: $44,010.

5. Paralegal

Lawyers assume ultimate responsibility for legal work, but they often delegate tasks to paralegals, also called legal assistants. Paralegals help prepare for trials, hearings, and meetings; investigate facts; identify appropriate laws and decisions; and, after analyzing and organizing information, prepare and present reports of their findings.

Most paralegals have an associate degree in paralegal studies, however, intensive certification programs are also available and can often be completed in just a few months.

Median annual earnings: $39,130.

All salaries listed are median annual earnings based on 2004 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Brain shifts to positive thoughts when confronted with death

Washington, December 29 : A dying individual's mind is ruled by happiness, not fear, for a new study has found that when faced with death, the brain instinctively moves toward happier notions and images.

The findings hold on to the belief that people are emotionally stronger when faced with their own or a loved one's death than they may have ever thought possible.

The study was led by Nathan DeWall, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky and co-researcher Roy Baumeister, of Florida State University.

"It again speaks to how resilient humans are and how this tendency to cope with threats is some sort of indicator of mental health," Live Science quoted DeWall, as saying.

The scientists believe that as humans became aware of death, they also evolved what's been called the 'psychological immune system.'

DeWall said that due to this mechanism, the thoughts and attitudes get inclined towards the positive, no matter how grim the events are.

According to him, this behaviour is normally an unconscious mental shift.

For the study, more than 100 healthy young adult volunteers were made to think about death as a reality. They were also asked to imagine the process of their own death, as well as what it might be like to be dead.

Another group of young adults was asked to think about an unpleasant event, like a trip to the dentist's office, but not death. The participants were then made to undergo standard word tests that tapped into unconscious emotional states.

In one test, participants were give a word stem - 'jo-' for example and asked to complete it to form a word (i.e., 'job', 'jog', 'joy').

The scientists said that the individuals asked to think about death were more prone than the other participants to choose the word 'joy,' as against more neutral or negative words.

During another word test, the researchers offered the participants a word and asked them to pair it with one of two other words. While one of the words was similar to the target word in its meaning, the other word was more emotionally similar.

For example, 'puppy' might be paired with either 'beetle' (another many-legged animal), or 'parade' (not an animal, but fun, enjoyable, as puppies are).

Once more, people who were primed to think about death were much more likely to choose 'parade' over 'beetle' as compared to the other participants.

The researchers said that this suggested them to unconsciously prefer the positive emotion associated with that choice.

"People really don't know that they do this. It's actually very counterintuitive. This picks up on the idea that when people are confronted with their own mortality, these sorts of concepts - positive emotion words become readily accessible to them," said DeWall.

Minn. Child Sticks Screwdriver Into Head, Survives

An X-ray shows the screwdriver penetrated Teagan Gislason's eye socket, five centimeters into her brain. Doctors removed it after four hours, with virtually no bleeding.









Doctors said Teagan Gislason's vision appears to be fine, and the only remaining mark from the incident is a scar on her eyelid.

A 2-year-old Farmington, Minn. girl stabbed herself in the eye socket with a screwdriver and somehow escaped relatively unharmed, reports CBS station WCCO-TV in Minneapolis.

Teagan Gislason returned home on Christmas Eve after nearly a week at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Gislason's father, Neil Gislason, said she hurt herself near the end of a church service at St. Paul's Lutheran in Cannon Falls, Minn.

"God was watching over her very hard," said Neil Gislason. "I think He saved her for a reason, and I can't wait to see what that reason is."

Gislason was with his three daughters at the church. He said Teagan was getting restless, and went into a room where children have adult supervision during the church service. Teagan somehow found a screwdriver, and a fellow church member saw it sticking out of her left eye socket.

An X-ray shows the screwdriver penetrated Teagan's eye socket, five centimeters into her brain. Doctors removed it after four hours, with virtually no bleeding.

One week later, Teagan is home with her family. Her vision appears to be fine, and the only remaining mark from the incident is a scar on her eyelid.

"She's our Christmas miracle," said Katie Gislason, Teagan's mother.

The family is administering antibiotics to make sure the eye doesn't become infected, and Teagan will still be regularly checked out by doctors to make sure she isn't experiencing any problems with her vision.

Thief Arrested For Stealing Baby Jesus With GPS

WELLINGTON, Fla. -- Baby Jesus has gone high tech.

Authorities said a baby Jesus stolen from a nativity scene in Wellington is safely back in the manger after it was stolen.

One person was arrested for stealing the figure Wednesday night, which was equipped with a GPS tracking device.

The tracking system was attached in response to previous thefts.

Flirting helps relationships?

I know that flirting can be a huge source of contempt in relationships. Some guys see their partners flirting with other men and go ballistic. Some women see guys flirting with other women and think he's trying to score.

And while I know that flirting can be a dangerous game if you're playing with the wrong people, I also believe that flirting can be healthy - as long as you're taking the energy you're building and putting it back into your relationship.

So, what can innocent flirting with a co-worker, stranger, or random bartender do to help your relationship? More than you may think.

Flirting Gives You Confidence

A relationship progresses after some time, and both sides fall into the same rut of Friday pizza, Saturday out, and sleepy Sunday. Same old, same old. The message: We're stuck together, we're comfortable together, and we may be perfectly content together.

All well and good, but that does as much for your romantic confidence as having spinach in your teeth. What flirting allows you to do is feel like you're impressing another person and being attractive to another person - without the baggage, stigma, and pressures of the next step. Bringing that sexual and romantic confidence back to your relationship helps you - and strengthens the relationship across the board.

Flirting Keeps You Sharp

Being wanted is one of our most basic needs. Sometimes, when we're in relationships, we don't always get that positive vibe - that we're wanted, needed, and desired.

Every once in a while, flirting can reinforce that primitive need of feeling valued. And that little innocent dialogue with some stranger in a bookstore may be all the kick-start you need to lose a little weight or change up your hair or whatever it is that you want to do to make yourself feel better about yourself. Which has benefits for everyone involved.

Flirting Lets You Build Up Sexual Energy

Some shrinks say it's OK to fantasize about anyone you want and build up a head of steam - as long as you, well, go ahead then and release that pent up energy with your partner.

So in a way, you can use flirting as a kind of foreplay. Build a little frisky tension with the barista, get warmed up, then bring home the dividends. And when you're at home, leave a copy of this list around the house. Think of it as a kind of flirting with your partner - and a fun to-do list.

Flirting Reminds You How Good You Have It

The fun of flirting is that there are no strings attached. Just some good ole banter with jokes, laughs, and some well-timed sexual innuendo. Fun at first. But when you think of the long process that comes after, it makes you realize that what you've got at home is exactly what you want.

I can hear you now: too much flirting can lead to real temptation. Here's what we told Men's Health readers to do when faced with a home-wrecking temptress.

Career Do's and Don'ts from 2007

Stars like Matt Damon, Oprah Winfrey, and Rosie O'Donnell are just a few of the public figures whose actions in 2007 -- good or bad -- offer career lessons for us all.

Whether it was bravely stepping out on "Dancing With the Stars" or getting fired for romancing a subordinate, understanding the six do's and don'ts below can help you move your career forward next year.

DO leverage your strengths. Matt Damon has long been known as a widely talented actor. This year, he built on the strength of his previous two "Bourne" films with his performance in the hugely successful "Bourne Ultimatum," bolstering his status as one of the most successful action-film stars in Hollywood.

"Finding out what you are good at and then working to get better at is a much more efficient use of your time and energy than trying to become a star in an area where you may not have much talent to begin with," says Richard Phillips, founder of Advantage Career Solutions.

DON'T use inappropriate language at work. Radio host Don Imus was fired from his longtime job for racially inflammatory language about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

"In general, steer clear of topics involving sex, drugs, race, and politics. Even if you think a comment is perfectly innocuous, someone else may very well see it differently," says Alexandra Levit, author of "They Don't Teach Corporate in College." "Once people perceive you as crass, sexist, or prejudiced, no amount of hard work in the world will restore your reputation in that organization."

DO acknowledge mistakes and take action to learn from them. After an abuse scandal surfaced at Oprah Winfrey's school for girls in South Africa, the talk-show host accepted responsibility for "inadequate" employee screening. She also traveled to the school to meet with parents and address their concerns.

Andrea Nierenberg, author of "Million Dollar Networking," says, "It takes a strong person to say, 'I was wrong,' and then to take the action to correct the problem. People respect you more and know that we all make mistakes -- yet it is an admirable person who goes the extra mile to quickly correct the mistake and take another action step."

DON'T get personally involved with a subordinate. The Red Cross ousted married CEO Mark Everson for having a personal relationship with one of his employees. The organization said the relationship showed "poor judgment" and damaged his credibility.

"Besides showing poor judgment, it is also unfair to the subordinate, whose career will likely be negatively impacted," says Phillips.

DO step outside your comfort zone. Racecar driver Helio Castroneves took a risk to learn ballroom dancing and perform on TV's "Dancing With the Stars." He backed it up with hard work and won the contest, opening up his career to new possibilities.

"Living in your safety zone year after year can make you stagnant and, well, boring," says Debra Davenport, a master professional mentor and career counselor. "If you're risk-averse, try conquering smaller challenges. Then, expand your horizons as you grow more comfortable. Who knows? You might even start your own business or embark on an entirely new and wonderful career!"

DON'T badmouth people who might be good references. Rosie O'Donnell's embattled tenure on "The View" ended prematurely this year, as her clashes with cohosts Elizabeth Hasselbeck and Barbara Walters were played out in the media.

"Rosie O'Donnell is your typical example of a workplace hothead -- someone who says exactly what they're thinking when they're thinking it regardless of the consequences," says Levit. "If you can't be diplomatic and communicate in a manner that shows that you respect others' points of view, colleagues won't want you around no matter how talented you are. 'The View' continues to offer examples (see last year's Star Jones mention) of how burning your bridges is never a good idea."

Woman, Boyfriend Arrested in Murder of 6

A postal worker worried about an absent colleague came across a horrific scene: six people, likely three generations of the same family, shot to death on their rural property.

Within hours, the family's tragedy only deepened when police arrested the property owners' daughter and her boyfriend, according to a law enforcement official.
A sheriff's deputy cordons off a property near Seattle where six bodies, including those of two children, were found Wednesday. The property owner's daughter and her boyfriend were arrested in connection with the deaths.


The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the names, said the pair were Michele Anderson, 29, and Joseph McEnroe, 29, her boyfriend.

King County sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart said the suspects went to the crime scene after investigators had arrived, were questioned and then arrested. No motive had been determine and investigators had not found a weapon.

The sheriff's office did not release the names of the suspects or the victims, but the owners of the property are Wayne Anderson, 60, and Judy Anderson, 61, according to public records. Multiple media reports said the couple, along with their son, Scott; his wife, Erica; and their two children, Olivia and Nathan, were the victims.

Urquhart would only say the victims were a boy about age 3, a girl about age 6, a man and woman in their 30s and a man and woman in their 50s, and "likely three generations" of one family.

Ben Anderson, who said he was the grandson of Wayne and Judy Anderson, told reporters outside his grandparents' property late Wednesday that money could have been a factor in the deaths.

"She felt she wasn't loved enough and everyone didn't appreciate her and she was pushed out of everyone's life," he said, referring to Michele Anderson.

A message left Wednesday night at a telephone listing for a Michele Anderson in the Carnation area was not immediately returned.

Autopsies have not been performed on the bodies, but the cause of death was apparently gunshots, Urquhart said. The six were likely killed late afternoon or early evening on Christmas Eve, he said.

Authorities are trying to determine why deputies didn't further investigate a 911 hang-up call on Christmas Eve that came from the house. The call ended after about 10 seconds, and the operator reported hearing "a lot of yelling in the background ... sounded more like party noise than angry heated arguing."

Operators twice called back, but both calls went into voice mail. About 30 minutes later, two deputies arrived at the property, but found a locked gate and did not go onto the property. The dispatchers log reported the deputies saying, "gate is locked, unable to gain access."

"They didn't go past it," Urquhart said. "I don't know why yet. That's one of the things we're looking into."

Urquhart said the bodies were found by a co-worker of one of the victims who had come to the house because one of the victims, who works for the U.S. Postal Service, did not report to work.

The bodies were found on a rural property that includes a house and a mobile home at the end of a long dirt road. The property is near this town about 25 miles east of Seattle.

Mark Bennett, a family friend, said the Andersons lived in a house there, and their daughter Michele lived on her parents' property in a mobile home with a male companion.

Bennett said he spoke with Judy and Wayne Anderson on Christmas Eve and tried to call them Christmas Day but could not reach them. He told reporters he came to the property Wednesday morning after seeing the home on television news.

"I didn't want to believe what I heard and saw, so I drove over," he said.

Urquhart declined to say where on the property the victims were found, other than to say they were "not found in the same room." As investigators searched the property, they removed a black pickup truck.

Bennett, who was not the person who found the bodies, said Wayne Anderson is a Boeing Co. engineer and Judy Anderson works for the post office in Carnation.

"It's shocking," said Don Lovett, owner of Pete's Grill and Pub in downtown Carnation. "It's a real small community out here, even being so close to a metropolitan area. We're really familiar with folks out here."

Archaeological site shed light on early Caribbeans

Archeologists have discovered a major archaeological site in Puerto Rico dating back to 600 AD, that might help to reconstruct the life of the early Caribbean inhabitants.

Found by an Atlanta-area archaeology firm working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the site uncovered the outlines of a very large Taino ball court and ceremonial site.

This was accompanied with human graves, trash mounds, building imprints and a few carved petroglyphs that are among the most intricate and detailed ever discovered in the region.

"Suddenly it went from a very good site to an extraordinary site," said Chris Espenshade, who led a team of local archaeologists and workers from New South Associates of Stone Mountain, Ga. at the dig this past summer and fall.

"Part of what makes it extraordinary is that we have everything here, the midden (refuse) mound, the batey (ceremonial site), the house patterns, the burials and the rock art," he told Cox News Service.

Though Espenshade's team worked through the summer, but only in the past few months unearthed enough to determine the major scope of the site.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime find, as preliminary estimates show the site dates to around 600 A.D.," said David McCullough, a Corps archaeologist.

"The petroglyph carvings are outstanding, with various human-looking faces and bodies. Another remarkable thing is the site is so well preserved. It was covered by the river's flooding and wasn't looted or cleared for farming," he added.

Puerto Rican archaeologists are excited by the find, which will be turned over to the island's government for preservation and future research.

Taino Indians, the original inhabitants of the region, were part of the Arawak people who settled the Caribbean, most likely venturing from the northern coast of South America, their canoes carried by ocean currents onto the string of islands that curve like an arc through the tropical sea.