Around the world
PULLED: Christmas turkeys were pulled from the shelves of Vancouver-area supermarkets Friday after an animal rights group said it had tampered with random birds. "Supermarkets in the lower (British Columbia) mainland, including Save-On Foods, received a letter from an animal rights group that claims to have randomly tampered with turkeys distributed in the past week throughout lower mainland supermarkets," said Save-On Foods president Brian Piwek. News reports said the letter was from a group calling itself the Animal Rights Militia, which said it was "in the name of turkey rights, avenging the senseless slaughter of millions of turkeys."CRASH: At least 20 Christmas holiday travelers died and 20 were injured Friday when two buses collided on the Pan American Highway near the fishing town of Chimbote on Peru's north coast, authorities said in Lima. Police in Chimbote said a bus heading south to Lima and another northbound for Chimbote crashed head-on near the port of Samanco some 255 miles north of Lima. A radio report said 21 people died and 24 were hurt in the crash.
Across the nation
FALL: A judge touring an unfinished building before ruling on a city petition to demolish it fell down an elevator shaft on Friday in Kansas City, Mo. Circuit Judge H. Michael Coburn had been ahead of about 10 other people when he fell about 12 feet, witnesses said. The group had been using flashlights in the darkened building. Coburn, 52, was in critical condition with brain, chest and abdominal injuries, said Jim Gember, a spokesman for Research Medical Center.
SENTENCED: An Oklahoma City judge has carried out a jury's recommendation and sentenced a convicted child rapist to 30,000 years in prison to ensure that he spends the rest of his life there. District Judge Dan Owens Thursday ordered Charles Scott Robinson, 30, to serve six consecutive 5,000-year sentences for raping a 3-year-old girl. The jury recommended the sentence last week on six counts of lewd molestation. Robinson had 14 previous felony convictions.
In Washington
ALLOWED: The Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that it will allow saline breast implants to remain on the market for at least another three years while safety studies are being conducted. Saline implants are the only implant widely available for cosmetic augmentation or breast reconstruction. In 1992, after a bitter and emotional debate, the agency removed silicone gel breast implants from the general market after safety questions arose.