»    We start the diet tomorrow

Firefighters in Lansing, Mich., used a forklift to lift a 900-pound man in need of medical treatment from the second floor bedroom of his home.

More than 50 neighbors and onlookers gathered outside the home to watch the dramatic rescue, during which rescue workers cut a large hole in the wall of the house, extricated the man using a forklift, placed him on a platform, covered him with a blue tarp to shield him from the public and finally transferred the man to a flat-bed trailer to be transported to the hospital.


»    Soccer fans to be buried near stadium

Fans of a German football team will be able to be buried just outside their team's stadium next year in Europe's first soccer cemetery.

Hamburger SV has laid the foundation stone for the graveyard, which will have a gate shaped like goalposts. It is just a few yards from the Arena.

Up to 500 graves will be arranged in a semi-circle on three levels to resemble a terrace. Fan Ernst Schmidt, 81, said he may reserve an "eternal season ticket" even though he already has plans to be buried with his wife. He said: "My life - it's only football."

»    Some take egg toss seriously

Germany – Mafia hitmen executed six mobsters 16 years after a feud. The bullet-ridden bodies of the men, aged 16 to 39, were found in and around their cars. They were shot after leaving a pizza restaurant where they had been celebrating the 18th birthday of one of the victims.

Police believe the massacre was the latest in a string of tit-for-tat murders going back to a row that started when a member of one crime family lobbed an egg at a rival during a 1991 carnival. Fifteen mobsters have been murdered since.

»    Dog's bite worse than its bark

Two San Francisco men broke into a vacant building in hopes of stealing copper wiring, police said. They had no idea that the Antioch police K-9 unit was due for a training session at the building, which once housed a cardboard-processing plant.

And at first, the police had no idea that the burglary suspects were inside.

As part of the training, an officer hid inside the 40,000-square-foot building. A K-9 officer then called out that a dog was about to be released and that anyone inside should immediately give up or risk getting bitten.

That's when the men surrendered.

»    Sue Nation

A lesbian couple in Australia are suing their doctor after they had twin girls from an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure when they only wanted one child.

The two women are seeking more than $400,000 in damages to help pay for the cost of raising the second child, including private school fees, saying they made it clear to their doctor that they only wanted one baby.

The twins are now three years old and the civil case has prompted debate about the value of children and role of parents.

»    Breaking the internet addiction

A Chinese man promised his wife that he would not go on the internet anymore and would spend more time at home to take care of their newborn son. But after a short time he started to sneak into nearby internet cafes again to have video chats with girls.

"I was on the internet, and suddenly felt a numbness in my right hand. The arrow on the screen stopped moving," the man said. "Then I found that my right hand was on the mouse pad, and blood was shooting out."

In court, the husband pleaded with the judge to release his wife, since he was to blame for breaking his promise.


»    Cancel the funeral, Mom's alive

A Romanian man has been fired after his mother visited him at work . . . . minutes after he told his boss she had just died.

The man had just asked to borrow some money to pay for her funeral.

He has given the equivalent of $300 but had to immediately pay it back when his mother turned up a few minutes later. He is also being investigated by police.