The Washington Post newspaper’s crossword puzzle had special meaning this weekend for one local couple.
With the complicity of the daily broadsheet, Corey Newman, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia, proposed to his live-in girlfriend, Marlowe Epstein, 31, through clues buried in a specially-crafted puzzle. The clue for 37 Across, for example, asked for the name of a role in the movie “Shakespeare in Love.” The answer – Marlowe.
39 Across asked for the name of a “Casablanca” screenwriter. The answer – Epstein.
The clincher was 51 Across: “Words with a certain ring to them.”
As soon as Ms Epstein came up with the answer – “Will you marry me” – Mr Newman got down on one knee, whipped out a diamond ring and repeated the question, the Post reported.
“Yes, of course!” Ms Epstein said. “I was sort of blown away,” she told the newspaper. “I was so impressed that he managed to pull that off!” (AFP)
Caught speeding
A 23-year-old German driver was caught speeding three times in 23 minutes yesterday in what police said was certain to be a record.
The culprit in the northern town of Luebbecke was stopped at 12.24 p.m. racing at 87 kilometres per hour in a 50 kilometres per hour zone, police said in a statement.
After authorities took down his personal details and gave him a warning, he sped off at 12.32 at 67 kilometres per hour, according to the laser gun. At 12.47, the boy racer zoomed past a speed trap at 70 kilometres per hour, as he waved at the officer manning it.
“Apparently he is not that attached to his driving licence as he already had to give it up in February for a month for speeding,” said the statement. Authorities said the driver could expect a fine of €180 and three points on his licence. (AFP)
Christian critics
Christian activists used a hammer to destroy a controversial photograph of a crucifix bathed in urine.
They targeted artist Andres Serrano’s works Immersion (Piss Christ) and The Church at the Collection Lambert in Avignon, France.
The museum says the destroyed works would remain on display so the public could view the damage. (PA)
Dog gone
A high-flying City couple have been ordered to return the black labrador they ordered to be snatched by a pet detective.
Bella was taken from Battersea Park, south-west London, on April Fools’ Day as she was exercised by dog-walker Aneta Fairbairn Millward for stockbroker Victoria Huxster.
The incident involving investigator Colin Butcher, who had been hired by banker Leslye Jourdan-Whittaker and her analyst husband Ian, was filmed for a forthcoming Channel 4 documentary. (PA)
Police tweet
Britain’s second largest police force launched the first “tweet-a-thon” from a magistrates’ court to give the public “peace of mind that justice is being done”, a senior officer said.
Five press officers from West Midlands Police took to the micro-blogging site Twitter to provide real-time updates from Birmingham Magistrates’ Court, with cases ranging from shoplifting to assaulting a police officer all listed.
It comes after Greater Manchester Police used the site to publish every one of the 3,205 incidents its officers had to deal with in 24 hours last October. (PA)
Taking a liberty
The US Post Office has mistakenly issued a stamp featuring the Statue of Liberty based on a replica of a statue in Las Vegas, rather than the original. A spokesman said three billion stamps have been printed, and they will not be recalled.
The mistake was spotted by Linn’s Stamp News, which noticed the stamp shows a rectangular patch on the crown of the statue which does not appear on the one in New York Harbour. (PA)
Joke backfires
An American doctor has resigned as president-elect of the US College of Surgeons after a light-hearted comment on women was attacked as sexist. Lazar J. Greenfield wrote in a column that science indicates semen has a mood-enhancing effect on women and concluded it was a better Valentine’s Day gift than chocolates.
Dr Greenfield says his apologies to the association’s board were ignored and he resigned to avoid further disruption. (PA)
Mosque insult
Opponents of plans to build a mosque in a southern Belgian city partially buried the head of a pig under a Christian cross bearing the inscription: “Here Lies Mohamed.”
Xavier Godefroid, an official with the mayor’s office in French-speaking Charleroi, said the protesters’ actions, with more offensive slogans plastered around the site, were “unacceptable, intolerable and disrespectful,” adding that police had opened an investigation.
The pig’s snout was still sticking out of the ground when the decapitated animal – which practising Muslims will not eat, and therefore represents a major insult – was found.
Charleroi mayor Jean-Jacques Viseur told a news conference that faced with such a “stupid gesture... we are all Muslims” now. (AFP)
Single success
A single which peaked at 121 in the charts has been nominated for a top songwriting award.
MY KZ, UR BF, by Manchester band Everything Everything, is in the running to pick up the Ivor Novello Award for the best song “musically and lyrically”.
It is up against the Foals track Spanish Sahara and Becoming A Jackal by Villagers. (PA)