News & Blues

 Curses, Foiled Again
A British court convicted Emmanuel Jerome, 23, of burglary after police discovered a video recording of the break-in on his iPhone. Bradford Crown Court heard that Jerome thought he had switched on a flashlight app on the phone to find his way but instead activated the camera. (Britain’s Daily Mail)

Economy Boosters

After Maine, Maryland and Washington voters approved same-sex marriages, The Williams Institute, a national think tank at the UCLA School of Law, estimated that nearly 18,000 same-sex couples will exchange vows in the next three years, generating $166 million in wedding spending, boosting tax revenue and creating jobs. Six states and the District of Columbia where gay weddings are legal, have already benefited economically. (Associated Press)
Washington and Colorado anticipate an influx of tourists after voters approved marijuana possession by both state residents and out-of-staters. Likeliest to benefit are Colorado’s ski resorts, which, according to the resort association Colorado Ski Country USA’s Jennifer Rudolph are “closely” watching the development of marijuana tourism. “If people want to come to Colorado because pot is legal, and that’s the sole reason, it’s up to them,” said Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo, whose jurisdiction includes Aspen. “I am not the lifestyle police.” (Associated Press)

When Guns Are Outlawed
When a gunman demanded cash from storeowner Saadat Khan, 49, in Stoneham, Mass., Khan told police, he grabbed a cup of chili powder he keeps behind the counter to sprinkle on food and threw it in the robber’s face, then punched him and threw him out of the store. (Associated Press)

Looking for Loopholes
Nite Moves strip club in Albany, is seeking to avoid paying $124,000 in back taxes by claiming its nude lap dances are exempt under state law as “live dramatic or musical arts performances.” An administrative law judge agreed with Nite Moves, pointing out, “The fact that the dancers remove all or part of their costume … simply does not render such dance routines as something less than choreographed performances.”
But the state Tax Appeals Tribunal disagreed, as did an Appellate Division court, which ruled Nite Moves didn’t establish that private dances offered at its club are choreographed performances and noted Nite Moves dancers aren’t required to have any formal dance training. “It’s definitely a form of art,” one dancer, who declined to give her name, insisted. “Some girls are up there practicing for hours.” (Associated Press)

Not Here to Talk %u2028About the Past
Physician-turned-tea-partyer Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., easily won re-election to a second term as an avowed anti-abortion, family values candidate, despite testifying at his divorce trial that he had “sexual relationships with at least two patients, three co-workers and a drug representative” while he was married. He also admitted supporting his ex-wife’s decision to have two abortions before they wed and reportedly urged one of the patients he had sex with to get an abortion. DesJarlais has consistently supported anti-abortion legislation, scoring the National Right to Life’s coveted 100 percent rating. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

Memories Are Made for Moments Like This
Police arrested a man suspected of breaking into his neighbor’s house in Greeley, Colo., and taking sex toys. Police Sgt. Susan West said the victim happened to have several photographs of the missing toys that matched the items found during a search of the suspect’s home. (Denver’s KMGH-TV)

Seeing Is Believing
Women who “test drive” larger breasts before getting implants wind up choosing even bigger implants, according to a British plastic surgeon. Mark Henley, who runs East Midlands Aesthetics in Nottingham, explained the “try-before-you-buy” idea involves wearing a heavily padded bra with 10 gel-filled pads on each side for two weeks to see how they like having bigger breasts. After using the technique on 162 women, he told the annual meeting of the British Association for Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons that on average they chose implants 30 percent larger than they planned. He theorized that the padded bras boost their confidence. (Britain’s Daily Mail)

News and Blues is compiled from the nation’s press. To contribute, submit original clippings, citing date and source, to Roland Sweet in care of The New Times.